#and the problem is the core of the video is good! he makes a few good points but he gets caught up in these strange tangents

[cocteautwinslyrics]

friendlyjordies fell off

[georgiapeach30513]

Your Mark On Me, Part 15

Summary: things are no good.

Pairings: Steve Rogers X Reader

Rating: explicit. Dead dove do not eat

Warnings:  explicit language, explicit dark content, kidnapping, mentions of drug abuse, mentions of stealing money, degradation (not for sexual play), spitting, hitting, pinching, slapping, restraining, mocking, blood, human auction, forced removal of IUD, realization of voyeurism, sexual recordings without knowledge, dark imagery 18+ ONLY

Word Count: 5.4K

Previous

Series Masterlist

*dividers created by @firefly-graphics

Rage. Blinding hot rage that boils every ounce of his blood. Hating himself doesn’t even cover it. Leaving you the way he did as a broken shell of the woman that he first met. You had shown resilience to his impossible needs. You had fallen so hard, and he still withheld how he truly felt for you.

The threat was enough to not just chill him all the way to the core of his being, but the video — whoever it was had caught him. Caught exactly what you meant to him on video. Words he had never spoken in years, and they had the evidence. Coupled with the threat of not only you, but Bucky’s Shy Violet. His unborn son. And Steve could not be responsible for that much pain.

Steve can barely see as he flees the hotel he left you in. A crumpled mess. A true depiction of the barren wasteland he left your heart. People don’t love as deeply as you did, and have someone rip it out with scars that may never heal. He’s an example of that. And he did it to the only person who he had ever truly been in love with.

He meant every word to you this morning, even the ones you would never hear. Why did this person, this entity hate him so much that he would threaten three people that had no part in this scheme? He had to tell Bucky. He also had to be able to visually see, and he can’t put anything into words except the red hot coils of desire to burn down the world.

Questioning if what he did was the right answer. He was told they knew his weakness, and you would be removed from his life. He beat them to it. He took away the person that they knew was his the one that would destroy him. But who? Who hated him that much to want to destroy him? Clearly it was competition but there was only one person, or people that were competitive with Steve.

“Sam?” The other man sighs. Hearing Steve's voice as wrecked as it was didn’t take much to realize what the idiot had done. “Who’s watching her?”

“You put Loki outside. Told him to watch her for a few weeks. Said that you figured she would move on. But you’re a fucking idiot.”

“They,” he yanks the steering wheel to the side of the road, throwing his car into park before pressing his palms into his eyes, and wills the tears to not spill over his lashes, “They were going to kill her and Bucky’s Shy, and…your family.”

“Figured as much. I told Nat to get the kids to the safe house. Just like you should have done with Dove. With her and Bucky there everyone would have been safe. You’re too fucking irrational. You don’t think. You should have discussed with me, and we could have came up with a plan. But you didn’t like that I heard what you said,” Steve pulls at wads of his hair, and he slams his fist on the steering wheel. “Love doesn’t make you weak.”

“I told you that you didn’t hear anything,” still in this world of denial and wanting to protect his ego. His pride? Protect anything but the person he truly cared about. You.

“You love her. You’re a coward that couldn’t even tell her to her fucking face. Is a million dollars really going to make up for what you did? You’re the problem here, Steve. She was the solution. Go back. Go get her, and I’ll take her to the safe house. I’ll leave Nat and Bucky with the kids, and Shy, and we will figure out what the fuck is going on,” Steve shakes his head. You hated him. He made sure to make you feel worthless to him, and hope that one day you could move on.

The thought of another man touching your flesh sears into his mind. Thinking this dumbass could ever hold you and love you the way he did. It was a toxic love, but he found serenity in your bright glow. The devil came to find his goddess of spring. The link that kept his underground hell blooming into the most beautiful chaotic garden.

Every morning he could see the sun shining on your face like you were the beacon, and it was trying to find you. But instead, Steve did. He tried to dim every bit of your light, and instead you changed him. And how did he repay you? He left you, his beautiful goddess, a void. Gave you every opportunity to turn into the darkness that he helped flourish. Instead, you were making him lighter.

You had a link to the depravity of his world that was Lark, and one wrong move and you would become a demon to addiction. A beautiful woman lively turned into a servant for drugs and the underbelly that he helped create. Try and be noble all he wants, he still sold a lie to users. He catered to the whims of one of the most powerful things in the world. Addiction.

“Sam,” he says as he starts to turn the car around. “I made a mistake.”

“Get your girl. I’m calling Bucky. We’ll keep her safe, and we finish this once and for all. It’s time,” without hesitation and very little thought Steve knows exactly where the threat came from. Peggy. The one who set this all off to begin with. No doubt a woman who thought she had broken Steve would be infuriated that he had managed to actually fall this time. The purest form of love. Childlike. He was in fact so in love with you it hurt him.

Pained every inch of his inky skin. He was only trying to let his Dove out of her cage, and let her fly alone. He was no longer the cage that kept you trapped. He was made pure again, and was a dove right along with you. He wasn’t meant to set you free, he was meant to fly out of his own cage with you.

He fucked up. He knows you may never forgive him for this whiplash, but if it meant that you were going to keep your life, that was the burden he would have to bear. He would carry the weight of that on his back for the rest of eternity as long as he knew you were alive and well. He had to. Because he was in love.

You don’t cry. You barely blink. Couldn’t even move to clean yourself off as per his request. That towel lays haphazardly on his spilt cum, and you stare up at the ceiling trying to make this a nightmare. He was a liar. That wasn’t Steve, and as much as you wanted to cut etches of his story off his skin, you wanted him to hold you even more.

It is a bizarre feeling to hate and need the same person. Time has no meaning on this bed. Earlier today you saw him for the man he used to be before Peggy tried to destroy him. And then he burned that man at the stake as he became the monster you first met. The lord of the underworld, and he brought you down into his depths, but maybe it was all one sided.

Watching as the room spins around you in a humiliating and dizzying haze. It’s why he couldn’t look at you. He has fought and fought his true feelings, and because he couldn’t accept them he had to remove the seed that was sprouting in his heart. The seed that was changing winter into spring and you saw lightness and color that once resided inside of his soul.

You hate him. And still, you’re in love with him, and you need him to hold you and tell you that wasn’t him. That he was sorry, and he was so in love with you and he was done fighting, and you doubt that moment will ever come. If you could close your eyes and never wake up that would be the most fitting. You didn’t want to see anything anymore.

“Dove?” Your eyes stare blankly up at the ceiling, and you swear there’s a pattern to the odd appearance of it. Dots that you feel are just the stars, and they’re covering you in a warm blanket. As warm as the fuzz that is thrown over your body.

“Sissy, how much money did he leave you?” Your blinks start to slow down, and you hope that they’ll eventually close forever so you don’t have this sickening feeling in your stomach. “I’m going to take this and invest in — things, yeah. You don’t need it. You’ve got your school you can bounce back on, okay?”

If there is one thing you wished it was that Steve could have quit fighting the inevitable. That he would have just admitted the feelings he had for you, and the two of you could run away. Money and power are just as dark of an addiction as the drugs he sold. And he was letting his addiction win.

“Won’t you let me get you dressed. You don’t want to leave here naked. And — he didn’t love you. That mess on your stomach is how he treats the girls he threw away at the club. Used their warm flesh to fill a need, and then…”

“You’re lying,” your eyes finally focus on your sister, and you turn and look away from her quickly. She no longer was the vibrant older sister you once knew. Either Steve had been lying about your addiction and usage, or she had found another supplier. “What happened to you?”

“You should look in the mirror,” you didn’t want to look at your face. You’d look like a bird with clipped wings that could no longer fly because that’s just what you feel like. “Get dressed.”

“What are you doing with the money?” You inquire. But she doesn’t respond just goes towards your bag, and opens up one. Tossing over a dress, and you finally take stock of what’s going on. Sitting up in the bed so see her clinging to the bag with cash in it. The stupor you were once in now is a dull pain of the past hour. “Lark?”

The door opens up to your room, and scramble to cover yourself. You know him. “Dovey, it’s time for you to go. He’s been waiting on you,” tears flood out your eyes as you shake your head. “You really want him to see you with Steve’s cum on your stomach. Your pussy fucked out, and tits hanging out? Now,” he clicks his tongue, snapping a finger at Lark, and your sister scurries out of the hotel room.

“It’s just you and me,” grabbing at your foot, he pulls you down to him and you kick and scream. Biting every time his hands touch you. Your reason to fight became apparent because whatever is wrong is worse than the empty gut you have now. “He threw you away!”

“Fuck you!”

“Keep fighting me, and it’s you that’s going to be fucked,” clearing his throat your room is flooded with men, and they all close in on you, struggling to hold on to your body before with one snap, you go into blackness. A darker world than you have ever ventured to. A world where things will never be the same. Left and broken, now stolen and restored. Fight is still there.

Steve sprints to your bedroom, racing through every part of it. Knowing without seeing physically that you’re gone. His hands pick up and throw everything in its path. Destroying the room just like he destroyed you. The luggage with clothes is still here, but the suitcase with money was gone.

Lifting up the mattress he flips it over, standing in the fucking room that was devoid of you. You were gone, and he can’t shake the feeling that you were taken. Stolen from this room, and from — he can’t even say himself anymore. Because he left you. You weren’t his to steal. He fucked up.

Chest heaving as his mind races on where you could be. He has an idea of who took you and it sickens him. He sees what Lark has become. Rumlow was the worst kind of drug dealer, because he dealt in more than just drugs, he dealt in women.

“Steve.”

“I fucked up,” he turns around. Eyes pleading at Bucky. “Why are you here?”

“Sam’s with the girls. I’m risking my life and the chance to see my future son because I can’t imagine what you’re going through. You fucked up, but I can’t let you wonder your what ifs or wonder where she is. I can’t let you lose the love of your life,” Steve shakes his head, the anger turning into the worst pain he’s ever felt in his life. As the last of his humanity is wrenched from his fingers. “Why can’t you say it? Does she mean that little to you?”

“She means more than any amount fucking words, Bucky. She means everything. Shy and Ember were threatened. Nat and the girls, and a lot don’t even know that Sam and Nat are together and have kids. Why do they want her?”

“They’re trying to make your kingdom crumble. The dark lord of the seedy underbelly. Ruled by fear and power. For a drug lord you had some morals, if that’s what you want to call it. And there’s…”

“Peggy,” Steve gulps, glancing around the room that is as messy as his head. Disheveled in every crevice. He has to clear his mind if he’s ever going to find you.

“I want you to make me a promise,” Steve nods. Taking a few deep breaths to center himself. It ends now. He won’t hold back. It’s time to burn the world down to save you. Rumlow’s entire organization will disintegrate. He doesn’t even care where the two of you end up. He needs to know you’re alive, and living the life you want. And he hopes you still can find a place to put him in it.

“If we find Dove, I need you to tell her exactly how you feel, you coward. Quit waiting until the girl falls asleep before you say it.”

“Deal.”

“Let’s go save a dove.”

You could look at Steve trying to destroy you as a good thing. There’s a numbness that courses through your veins, or maybe it’s just a sleepy fog since the moment he walked out that door. Staring at the sleeping form of the man that tattooed you while your arms are restrained above your head, you wonder how you slipped this far into this world of darkness. Your will to fight dormant and resting. Now you observe. Paying attention to everything while you remember every bit of this moment. Something eventually had to help.

You don’t hate Steve. In fact the reason he did what he did seems to be to avoid this bullshit right here. Protecting you from whatever this hell is, but he failed. He let the wrong one watch you. And your own sister somehow played a part. You’d cuss him for the fool that he is when he comes to rescue you. And then allow your exhaustion and anger to rain down him with a fury that is hibernating.

Your eyes start to droop a bit. The adrenaline and heart shattering moments hitting a climax so high that your body is spent. There is no time for fear, and no time for anger. It’s survival. Steve would find you, and you would kick him in his perfect balls for ever hurting you. Even though the idea of him throwing that door open to save you like a scarred Prince Charming was looking damn fine, you can’t ignore what he did.

“How long has it been?” A sickeningly sweet voice walks into the room, and her beady eyes look you up and down. “What is she wearing?”

“Whatever I could put on her. You said you didn’t want Rumlow to see her the way I found her. You’re still so concerned with him leaving you for someone else?” His head bounces to the side with the force of the smack she connects to his face. “Why else do you need her covered?”

“I don’t need to see what cunt Steve’s been shagging. Pretending that she was the only one while he was fucking Rumlow’s whores at the club,” you roll your eyes, but refuse to comment. Sam kept tabs on Steve, and even told you he’s never seen him so much as glance at another woman. Her tactics of wearing you down were futile. You couldn’t sink any lower. The bottom has already been reached and all in a few short hours.

“You’ve been fucking like rabbits, and he still hasn’t fucked a baby in you?” You spit on her, gaining a slap against your own cheek. Her red painted nail wipes of your saliva from her face before she embarrassingly rubs it on your face.

“That’s rich coming from a double crossing bitch. You can only smack me when I can’t fight back?”

“You’re a bitchy one, aren’t ya? So tell me, sweet princess, how have you remained without a bastard?”

“It’s called birth control, you idiot.”

“One I need to cut out of your arm? Or rip it out from between your legs? Or do you trust the pill?” What the fuck was this woman getting off on? You aren’t even sure what her fucking problem was, or why it concerned you so much. “Rumlow has suffered with his business, while Steve flourishes. He needs to be destroyed, but I much prefer slow torture,” her fingernails connect to your arm, and she uses far too much pressure to slide all over the delicate skin of your arms before her eyes zone in on your lower body.

”Remove it.”

“What the fuck? No!”

“Stick another fucking needle in her neck and remove it,” she is psychotic. More than Steve could have ever realized. “You know your pretty sister? Yeah, it was easy to break her spirit. It’s funny what money and drugs can get people to do. What would destroy Steve? To see you broken from another human. To see you as a ghost of who you were. A zombie that he can’t even recognize. You know how many people are willing to bid for Steve’s precious Dove? Use your body to work out their frustrations on their biggest competition. Your sister sold you out for money and drugs, but the good thing is she is no longer being pimped out. But you — Steve will never want you again. Remove it. She can be someone else’s problem.”

Her stilettos click out of your room, and Loki stands up to walk closer to you. You flail, screaming out obscenities and no towards him. Having very little room to get any leverage over him. They were all fucking mental. “No! Don’t touch me.”

”It’ll only sting for a minute. You keep getting stuck with this, you’re going to have a bigger problem,” his voice is cloying in your ear as he grabs your face. Coming closer to you with a needle before it drives into your body.

“No! No! Please, no!” Another wave of blackness. Falling into an oblivion of a dark void that has no end in sight. Whispering out, “No,” one more time, and crying because no one can hear you. Being stripped away from the only salvation you knew, and now becoming the exact opposite of what Steve desired the most in you. Untouched. She wanted to sell you, auction you off while Steve can either be searching for you, or pretending you never existed.

You just want to go home. Home to the cabin, and pretend that he was coming home to you. Hold onto happy moments while your humanity is ripped from you. You hate her.

Your head lulls back on your shoulders, and the dingy light of the room tries to filter through the darkness, and you try to grasp it. Hoping that light can save your soul from the monster Peggy was forcing you to become. You hate her.

He didn’t like it. He hated it. Hated that you were ever put in this position, and he had himself more to blame than anyone. The very thought of something going wrong just wasn’t an option. He didn’t need anything to go wrong. He needed you. He needs to know that you are okay, and you were free to live a life.

The thoughts of you choosing a life that didn’t include him was on his mind, but he couldn’t think of that. Everything had to be perfectly planned out. He knew that Peggy was a vindictive bitch, while Rumlow was a pathetic one. He assumes that they’re hoping for an appearance by him.

It wasn’t a secret what they were doing. Everyone knew they were putting you up for auction. The reception went from an absolutely no because they knew Steve’s vengeance would be grisly to the ones that were drooling and licking their jowls at a chance to fuck Steve over. But retaliation would happen. To all of them. There would be a retribution on every single person that participates in the selling of you.

Every last one of them will get the fiery death of his dreams, and if you wanted to facilitate he would let you watch as they all burn. He failed in the one thing he promised above all else and that was to protect you. He’d make it up. He would get you. Or he would watch it all burn.

—

There’s moments in your life where you freeze up. Your body goes into autopilot, and you’re just there. Going through the motions. While your body is numb to every poke, prod, and movement by someone else. Your mind is on high alert. Listening to every door open. Absorbing every conversation. Your eyes take stock of all that is around you. Memorize every face as you dream about their demise.

You knew there would come a time when you had to identify people because you still hadn’t given up hope that Steve would keep his promise. Rumlow was a boastful idiot and he was letting everyone know who he was going to have up on that stage. Steve would hear about it, and you didn’t doubt that he would have fun in taking care of everything.

That’s not to say that you didn’t want to add another scar on Steve’s body, and you wanted to scratch him, and maul his perfect face, but you need him to wrap those stupid beefy arms around you and carry you out of this disgusting place. You know if you allow your mind to go into the dark places that you would lose all hope, and you’d never stop crying. Or worse become the devil Peggy was trying to make you.

You didn’t even speak to them when they’d ask you questions. You’d just stare at them blankly as they pinched, slapped, and pushed you around. You wouldn’t allow yourself to let them break you. Not yet. When this is all over you could have those moments of clarity, but right now it’s just to survive. And that meant focusing on everything.

You even knew it took Loki exactly thirty-four steps to get to the chair that set outside of your cage. And another forty-two steps to get to the door. You knew that he was the biggest coward of all, and needed to hide behind a more powerful man. Scheming and lying through his teeth while he collects secrets and information as his own form of currency.

He was loathsome. Peggy was the worst bitch you had ever met in your life. A woman who didn’t want Steve, and also couldn’t bare to see him happy with another woman. The kind of woman whose ego got in the way of the bigger picture. While Rumlow was describable he had bigger reasons for doing this. Peggy’s reasons didn’t go past needing to make Steve feel emasculated.

Disgusting woman, all dolled up for a pretty picture. Steve wasn’t a hero, but he could admit it. She wants to act like there was a moral high ground that she was part of, and still involved with another drug lord. That man just didn’t ask questions. You’d come to learn that Steve did, and that’s why Peggy had to ruin him.

“Are you still sore?” It is a stupid question when your arms were always extended above your head, the fact that she made people remove something so personal from you. Sore didn’t even begin to describe it. “You still mad at me, princess? And if you fucking spit on me again…”

You roll your eyes up to meet her, a sinister smile tugging at your mouth. “Ghastly woman. It’s what you deserve. You can pay for Steve’s sins. They always do,” another one of her tactics is to make you think you were nothing but a fleshlight to Steve. But you knew better. “Do you know how many girls that he has made become a sex worker? Rumor has it he filmed porn right in the club.”

Blah blah blah. You did actually talk to Steve. You also listened. It’s something she didn’t do well. Cocky little bitches never wanted to be the quiet little girls that people think aren’t threatening. Like you. She sees a weak submissive bird. You weren’t weak, and you weren’t dumb. You had more knowledge than she could even fathom about the ongoings of Steve’s enterprise. And there’s one thing she forgets, those sex workers Steve employed had a choice. She had removed yours.

“Are you going to play your game of not talking again?” Smirking, you roll your eyes before concentrating on her shoes. You weren’t going to give her the respect to look her in her face. “You’re such a spoiled child. Did your daddy Steve not spank you enough?”

“Nope,” Steve was not your daddy. He was your Captain.

“You do speak,” god, she’s a pompous twat. If she was closer you would spit on her, just for telling you not to.

“I don’t make it habit of talking to trollops,” with a painted red nail, she slaps you across the face, and your mouth fills with the pungent taste of metal. You gather it in your mouth, waiting. She is already getting closer to you.

“You fucking bitch. I will enjoy seeing you sold, and I will revel in the ways that they use your body to fuck over Steve. And that man never cared for you. You were just warm wet flesh,” one step too close to you, and you let her feel the blood she brought with her slap. The red paints her neck such a brilliant color and you chuckle, “You were just a whore to him. Let him fuck you raw. Intimately. Wanna see?”

Spinning on her heels, she snaps a finger at Loki, “I want Steve fucking her stupid on a loop. Let her watch every moment that was ever a lie. Break her fucking spirit, so she knows Steve never loved her. He couldn’t. Because he loved me, and will always look for a replacement. But there's only one me,” if only she knew that the love that Steve felt for her was nothing compared to how he felt about you. You knew it. He told you.

The sound of his voice stings as the monitor is lit up with the two of you. Precious moments stolen, and there is no telling how many people had seen this. You keep your eyes on Steve, more than you ever did while he was pumping into you. Steve never said the words, but he also couldn’t act. The way he stares at you with so much passion and love, versus the anger he had when he broke up with you. Such a lying coward.

You sniffle, refusing to let any tears cloud your vision or run down your face. You were becoming immune to the physical pain, but seeing a private beautiful moment with Steve hurts so deeply. Even the way he paints your skin with his fingers after making love. Yeah, Steve fucked you and would fuck you hard, but what you just witnessed was sweet. Almost like the first time.

Out of the corner of your eye you see Loki staring at you, and you twist your head to gaze back quickly, causing him to flinch. “When you came to our home…”

“It was just a place for him to hide you and fuck you. Don’t make it seem so domestic.”

“Was this your plan all along? Fuck Steve over?” He shrugs his shoulders, moving to turn back around after making a face with Steve’s grunts on the television. “He’ll enjoy torturing you.”

“You think very highly of yourself. Where were you at when I found you? Broken, naked, and used on a bed. Let’s not forget the money your sister stole from you. What do you think she’s going to do with that much money? Face it, Dovey, everyone around you used you and then left you. Steve for your tight cunt, and your sister for money. You’re better off this way.”

“Don’t call me that,” you wouldn’t let him win. Lark’s involvement is the most painful. Your therapist long ago told you drugs changed people. But inside of that body was still your sister. Somewhere.

“Don’t cry, Dove,” he mocks you as a single tear falls from your face. There’s no sincerity in his voice. And you want him to suffer from your own hands. “I finally know what it sounds like,” and you can’t wait to hear him plead for his pathetic life. His time will come.

You gulp as someone pulls on your leash. Fitted with a dog collar, and lingerie. You stare out blankly at the crowd as words about who you are and what the bidding starts off as begins. Faceless people litter a small crowd, and raised paddles keep being held up.

You try and focus on all their faces, see who is bidding the highest, and it is a zoo. Going so fast it makes you dizzy, and you sway on your heels. The price goes too high for average schmucks, and it seems it is a war between two people.

Both the man and woman are masked, and gloved, and neither have Steve’s features. You feel yourself for the first time slipping into despair. Feeling he didn’t actually care at all, and this is the result. Being sold like cattle.

“Two million,” the man say with finality, and the woman shakes her hand, refusing to pay that much. He left you. You really were worthless to him. Played in his stupid games.

“Sold to Mr. Wolf. Come collect your new pet,” the masked man stands up without a word. Pulling the leash from your handler before scooping up in his arms. Vacant. There’s nothing left. Steve left you to rot.

“I’ve got her,” he says into your ear, and it’s a weird sensation, causing goose pimples to arise on your skin. You didn’t have any idea why he was talking to you. You just need to forget the life you once came from.

The harsh light of the outside stings your eyes, and you start to regress in your body. The fight is finally over, and you just are in disbelief. “We’re out of the building. Clint, lock it down. Steve, I’m taking her to the safe house.”

“Steve?” Your body starts to tremble as the tears you have held in for far too long pours out.

“Shh, Dovey. I’ve got you, sweetheart. We’re going someplace safe, but Steve and a few others are burning this down. “Do you know if Peggy was in there?”

“She was bidding,” your words are whispered and confused, using a hand to squeeze on his metal arm, “Bucky?”

“I’ve got you. I gotta get you away,” he places you into the car, buckling you up before he gets in the seat himself. “We’re outta here. Send them right back to hell. Dove, were there any other girls up for auction?” You shake your head no, starting to curl into a ball. Your arms are still so stiff and sore. “She was all. You’ve got free range, Steve.”

Steve’s mouth curls into a gruesome grin. Eyes blazing as he heads towards the building, “Peggy is mine. Fucking bitch.”

Next

Masterlist

Taglist: @tis-thedamn-season @marveloustaylortot @pono-pura-vida @peaches1958 @seitmai @smile1318 @andydrysdalerogers @cjand10 @midnightramyeoncravings @kmc1989 @annaallicce @feyfantome @jesevans @tittittoee @bananapiedreams @onclouds999 @darkserenity24 @abbatoirablaze @ashychangeling @identity2212 @mrsevans90 @weirdothatwritess @floralwsloki @thestralwriting @ambearsstuff @kandis-mom @hoodiesandicedcoffee @awhoreformoree @nyxbellabarnes @buckybarnesisdaddy @theinheriteddutchess @rogersbarber

[da-rulah]

hi💆

I fucking love your content and I have a little request...

Here me out, Sexting with Mary Goore🏋‍♀️

Aww thank you so much, lovely!! I love that I'm getting Mary requests now, ever since writing my first Mary fic (which I just updated today, by the way 👀)

You want sexting with Mary Goore? Well, this is how I think that would go... fair warning, it's filthy. just as you'd expect with Mary.

GN!Reader, NSFW MDNI 18+

TW/ Fingering, masturbation, nude taking, filming self

(ps. if any artists see this and fancy recreating some of Mary's pics...... y'know, i wouldn't mind that... 👀)

You'd wanted a reaction, but this? This was beyond even what you could have thought.

14 text messages, 6 missed calls, and 2 failed video calls.

All Mary.

It was just a harmless little booty pic, something to tide him over until the next time you got to see your boyfriend. but to Mary it had been the final straw, the last of the sticks to be pulled from his game of kerplunk... And his marbles had been teetering all day, thinking about you, missing you...

The last text really caught your attention, after purposefully ignoring him just to wind him up.

If i wasn't on the road right now ur front door woulda lost its hinges. answer ur fuckin phone.

It sounded vaguely threatening; you liked that.

Sorry, my neighbour's cat needed a bath. A stupid lie to piss him off further. What's up?

What's up? u rlly gonna ask me that? You laughed at your phone, taking a seat on your couch as you waited for the three dots that were ominously typing still. My dick, that's what's up.

Sounds like a you problem. There was a brief pause, and you liked to imagine Mary was staring at his phone with an eye twitching in annoyance.

gonna make it ur fuckin problem, u started this.

A few moments later, you received a picture message; a close up of Mary's hand, donning his signature signet and skull rings, boney and veiny and large, gripping his bulge in his tatty jeans just below his leather belt. Immediately, your stomach flipped at the picture. He knew exactly what he was doing. Game on.

You alone?

Very.

Good.

With confirmation of his situation, you decided to turn up the heat. Resting your phone against a pile of books on your coffee table, you sat on the edge of your couch and removed your shirt. You set the self-timer to 10 seconds, and got into position.

Spreading your legs, you placed both hands between them to 'hide' your core. To show off the curve of your waist and hips, you leaned your shoulders forward, the figure he adored and desperately wanted to touch protruding and accentuated in the position you sat. The mix of skin, but not too much, and suggestion would drive him insane.

Satisfied after a couple of takes, you sent the best one and waited.

On his end, Mary stared at his phone with a twisted smirk, palming the bulge in his jeans. He fucking loved your nudes, always way more tasteful, artistic than previously less imaginative partners. They were always so much sexier than a standard dick pic or titty pic, of which he'd received many of the years.

u look gd enough to eat. u know what ur doing to me?

You giggled at your phone screen, typing out your reply.

no... will you show me?

Oh, he'd love to.

Mary set up his phone similarly to yours, resting it against a pile of laundry at the end of the motel bed he was lounging on. He removed his own shirt, undid his belt and pulled his erection from his confines, allowing himself a few quick tugs to keep the desperation at bay.

Then he set the self timer and leaned back, one hand behind his head and the other holding his erection in plain sight.

When he sent you his picture, all you could think of was crawling up between those skinny legs of his and riding him into the early hours. You fucking missed him. You ached for him.

u see, baby? all u.

This smug bastard knew the effect he'd have on you. He was smirking in the fucking picture. Time to one-up him...

You stripped from your clothes completely, once again setting your phone up on your coffee table. This time, you knelt on the couch with your knees apart, your ass to the camera, and leaned over the back of it, arching your back to show off the roundness of your ass for him.

When you sent it, Mary audibly cursed to himself. God, you looked delectable... he could clearly see your sex between your legs, so clearly aroused and presented to him. If only he were there...

aw baby, u wanna b fucked from behind? u know i'd take you in a heartbeat...

His text had you squirming where you sat, biting your lip as your hand travelled between your legs. With one hand, you typed back a reply.

Love when you fuck me like that... you get so deep, miss that

Mary groaned as he fucked into his fist, uncontrollably at the visions of previous exploits where he'd done exactly as you'd described. This was torture, his hand would never compared to being wrapped up and squeezed by your tightness.

just u wait til i come home...

can't wait... my fingers don't do the job anywhere near as well. you teased, slowly stretching out your hole as you leaned back into your couch, whining at the feeling.

ur touching urself now?

You smiled, picturing Mary's reaction. You could be so cruel, just reply with a yes and leave it to his imagination. But you were feeling particularly spicy today after too long without him.

So instead, you set up your phone again and took up the same position as your last picture, this time hitting the record button. To the camera, you coated your fingers in your spit, sucking them into your mouth before using them to push two inside you, teasing as your digits disappeared.

You whined his name wantonly, your intention to sound like the whore Mary turned you into. He always loved the noises you'd make for him.

The video lasted less than a minute when you cut it off with a giggle, ending on a close up of your smirking face as you'd turned the video off.

Does that answer your question?

Mary lost his mind. How dare you stop the recording. How dare you moan his name like that.

He'd had enough, the teasing too much for him to handle.

Instead of texting back, he instead his the little video camera icon by your contact name, the line ringing a few times as he was met with his own face putting the camera back at his feet, pants now completely discarded in favour of total nudity much like you.

You let it ring a few times, setting it back down against the books and hitting the answer button as you sat back into the couch, legs crossed and hiding yourself from him.

"You get back in that fucking position right now," he told you, voice gravelly and dark.

"Aw, you not gonna say please?"

"No. Get back up on your knees and show yourself to me. Let me see the mess you're making."

You bit your lip and did as he asked, spinning and kneeling back on the couch.

"You know what to do, baby..." he told you, the slick sounds from his end of the call sending shivers down your back as he stroked himself.

You did as you were told, re-enacting the short video you sent him as he watched. Mary guided you through it, telling you what to do, how to fuck yourself for him to his exact specifications. He edged you for almost an hour, and himself along with you.

It always blew your mind how Mary was able to give you the most mind-shattering orgasms, even from hundreds of miles away...

[morganbritton132]

Hi :)) you have no idea how much I enjoy your EMTTS it's literally my only motivation to get anything done when I see an update haha and your writing is so good?! And it's so wholesome?! How dare you make me feel happy things :((

Anywhoo, I was wondering if there'd ever be a moment where Eddie does an interview about fan conspiracy theories or read thirst tweets and what that would look like (I'm kind of getting hard core dylan o'brien vibes here where he's like "these are tame") maybe he's filming a tiktok in a break and he slowly pans around to Steve where he just looks so uncomfortable because !?? That's his husband?! People want him to step on them!?

Concerned and unaware Steve is all I'm saying

But literally you are insane I love what you've created it's so adorable!!

WHY HAVE I NEVER CONSIDERED THIRST TWEETS???!

Thirst tweets are such an obvious next step for him. Of course, someone would ask him to do it and obviously, he’d agree. I do think that Steve would be less uncomfortable with the concept but maybe a little jealous, a little possessive of his husband. Maybe keep your thoughts and your tweets off his hot ass husband, okay?

Eddie is taken.

The video actually starts with a little behind the scenes when Eddie is being mic’ed up. He’s talking to someone off camera but you can only hear his side of the conversation. He asks who he’s talking to if they know what thirst tweets are and then after they respond says, “They’re tweets about how people are desperate for me. For a drink of me, if you know what I mean… Not piss! Actually. Maybe piss. I’ve got some kinky fans.”

There’s a transition with a clapperboard and then Eddie is starting the video proper like, “Hi, I’m Eddie Munson. I play guitar in the heavy metal band, Corroded Coffin, and I’m on Tiktok. I’m gonna be reading some of your thirst tweets today.”

There are some tweets about wanting Eddie to step on them or blow their back out, or spit in their mouth. Someone tweets that they want Eddie to blow them like JFK’s head on a sunny afternoon drive which, “Admittedly, that one is really funny. These are a lot tamer than I was expecting.”

It’s not actually Eddie that posts the Tiktok that reveals that Steve is there too. It’s someone who works on the set and they’re technically just posting a video about the problem with the camera that halted production and how to fix it.

Eddie and Steve are just on the monitor so you can see them and you can kinda hear them. Eddie is teasing Steve about being jealous over some tweets from people they’ll never meet and Steve is pointing out that Eddie could actually meet them at one of his concerts.

Eddie is sitting on top of the table and Steve had been a few steps away from him until Eddie reached out and yanked him over to him by the waistband of his jeans. He smiles up at Steve and says, “Babygirl, you know you’re the only one for me.”

“Don’t call me that,” Steve said weakly, “In public.”

“Tell me you don’t believe me.”

“…I believe you,” Steve tells him, tilting Eddie’s head back further and leaning down to kiss him. “I believe you always.”

Eddie kisses him back and then asks, “Wanna go find somewhere and make out like teenagers?”

When they get the camera operating again, the first tweet Eddie reads is about someone wanting to be the middle of a Steddie sandwich, “Hot damn.”

 

Side Note: Eddie also does the one interview where you show them what’s in your bag. He has notebooks, pens, dice, his ADHD medication, Steve’s medications since they’re traveling together, a comb, a book, a toothbrush, and a charger. What he doesn’t have is his inhaler which - “Nope, not in my pocket either. Steve?”

[feasibilities]

Gumshoe in Gross Pointe | Neil Lewis x Lisbon Sister!Reader

Synopsis: The last survivor of the Lisbon Sisters returns to Grosse Pointe...to the shock of everyone. Warnings: Angst (a bit), Fluff) Grief, Mentions of Suicide, Unresolved Feelings, Gossip Author's Note: This is the first of two parts so stay tuned. This wonderful story idea was pitched by @everandforeveryours. Sorry it took so long!

The suicide of the Lisbon sisters in Grosse Pointe was a macabre incident that barely haunted the small town. The residents were so disturbed that they continued their lives as normal. Mr. and Mrs. Lisbon quietly left with you to grieve the loss of 4 out of 5 of their daughters. The images of your sisters’ bodies burned you to your core. As your memory faded from Grosse Pointe, Neil never forgot about you. The friendship you shared had a profound impact on him. Your friendship began when he brought you a copy of Natalie Babbit’s Tuck Everlasting. You sat with him at lunchtime and walked home with him nearly every day. He would sneak you slices of coffee cake courtesy of his mother since your parents didn’t allow junk food.  Neil had deep feelings for you but didn’t want to ruin things. You were a mainstay in the deep recesses of his mind when you left the morning after. 

——

Neil was confused to see a moving truck out of the old Lisbon house. He decided to go onto his porch for a closer look. His eyes widened when you and 2 movers got out. You were just as beautiful as he remembered. Your presence seemed to get the attention of other residents, too. That house sat empty for years while the realtor decreased the price on the ‘For Sale’ sign every few months. Now, it was just purchased by the last surviving Lisbon sister. They thought you would never see you again—especially Neil. He managed to duck back inside his house before you saw him gawking on the porch. You occupied your mind with settling in and ignored the prying eyes of your neighbors. 

After moving in, you walked around the house aimlessly. Your psychiatrist suggested that you redecorate the entire house. You laid plastic over the wooden floors and put paint tape on the baseboards. A record player your mother reluctantly bought you as a graduation present was your form of entertainment for the next few hours. Your meticulous redesign was interrupted by a knock at your door. You opened it slightly to find a coffee cake with a note on top of it. You took it inside and read the note out loud. A gentle smile came across your face when you recognized the initials. 

I got your favorite.

-N.L. 

The next day, you decided to venture into town to get some tapes from Gumshoe Video. Some of the adults you remembered looked at you like they had seen a ghost. As a child, you could only look through the window when your parents weren’t around. Walking in, a man close to your age stared at you with a puzzled expression. He could’ve sworn that he recognized you but left without finding an answer. You walked to the vintage film section and saw Neil organizing the tapes. You froze in shock once you recognized him. To his credit, he was still as good-looking as you remember. Neil lifted his head to see you and his soul nearly left his body. He hastily pushed the cart of tapes to the side to get a closer look at you. He took your hand in his to make sure you were really there. 

“Thanks for the cake.” You said softly. 

“N-no problem.” He started, feeling a mix of excitement and confusion at your return.

“Well, can you help me find some movies?” You asked, squeezing his hand gently. He picked out some films based on your favorite books and walked you to the counter. 

“I got a job at the bookstore across the street. Cool, right?” You revealed as you pulled out some cash to pay the rental fee.

“Very cool. I’m happy for you.” He said sincerely, handing you the bag of tapes. He brushed off your offer and winked at you. You two shared a longing glance before you thanked him and left quietly. Neil thought of you until the store’s closing time and went home to think about you even more. A part of him wanted to confess all of his deepest feelings and fill you with all of the love he had to give. He also understood that you needed time to settle in. 

Neil took a bit longer to get ready to make a good impression on you at the bookstore. He walked in and saw you handing a little girl a Junie B. Jones book. Her face lit up with excitement. Neil tried his best to eliminate thoughts of starting a family with you. He watched her skip away joyfully as you went back to shelving. Neil stood next to you and pretended to browse the collection. You giggled at Neil’s poor acting skills.

“Can you help me find some books?” Neil said, nudging you. 

“C’mon, you have to be a bit more specific. What’s your favorite genre?” You asked, watching him panic internally. 

“Uh, romance.” He bluffed. 

“Hmm, what about this?” You inquired, handing him a smutty romance novel with a shirtless man on the front. Skimming through the pages, his face turned bright red as he realized what the book was about. He hastily put it back and cleared his throat to ease his embarrassment. 

“If you’re done pretending, I have some books that were adapted into your favorite movies.”  You teased, walking him to the register and handing him an assortment of books. 

“Read all of these and I’ll love you forever.” You said jokingly. 

“Deal.” He replied as his heart nearly jumped out of his chest while he searched for his wallet. 

“Just pay me later.” You said. Neil thanked you and began to leave before he stopped in his tracks.

“Um, are you doing anything tonight? If you’re not, you could come by and we could watch some movies. It���s totally cool if you can’t and-“ He started in an incredibly anxious tone. 

“I have to close up the store but I’ll be there at 7.” You agreed. Neil was surprised by how forward you were nowadays.

To be continued...

[nteabodies]

Qui gon has a space youtube channel where he uploads videos of cool plants and reviews books on space botany with the occasional random footage of jedi stuff. The content is either very dry or very chaotic with shaky cam and somewhat blurry footage.

He made the account when he was a padawan after Dooku (nursing a headache from Qui Gon's latest hyperfixation) wearily asked him to channel his love for plants somewhere else at least until this migraine subsides, padawan

He realises that he actually loves making videos and chatting endlessly to a camera. His first few videos end up being 3 to 4 hours long and focuses on obscure plants and random books he found in Dookus room

The jedi Council is a little illiterate when it comes to social media (it hasnt caused any problems for the order yet so its pretty much unregulated) so QuiGon isn't actually breaking any rules when he posts videos without making them private. Many jedi do have social media accounts but they tend to use it for more professional purposes, so Qui Gon's channel slips under the radar with an average of like 5 views per video.

He continues using the channel as a botany/cute animals/philosophy/ranting outlet throughout his apprenticeship.

Once he's knighted he has less time to upload videos so his most common type of videos end up being those 20 second to 1 minute clips ft. Something Funny or Something Cool or just blurry footage with unintelligible audio.

Ofc when he gets padawans, he also posts random vids of them when he catches them in 4k doing sth stupid/cute.

By the time obi wan comes around, qui gon's space youtube channel has like, 50 short videos of feemor and xanatos doing things like petting tookas, failing spectacularly at executing a flashy ataru form, being sappy while high on painkillers, running away from qui gon as he holds a flesh-eating parasite towards them and shouts 'why are you running?' etc etc

At this point he has about 20 or so regular viewers who either think he's roleplaying a jedi or are members of the jedi order who find it hilarious (mainly Qui-Gon's friends and, for some reason, Master Yoda)

Anw the point of this is to lead to the premise of one of his videos going viral during the clone wars (possibly the one of general kenobi when he was 14 doing a backflip and landing on his face. Or the one of him sleeping while half his body is dangling outside a window. Or the one where he does this).

It's good PR for the jedi bc it shows them as slightly chaotic but peaceful people who are at their core just like everyone else (idiots).

It's memed to the extent that it reaches the eyes of the Jedi Council and Anakin who immediately like brings it to obi wan like "Master is this really you??"

Obi Wan randomly discovering this treasure trove of videos that shows so much of the person his master used to be, missing his dad so much but at the same time feeling a little betrayed that Qui Gon uploaded such embarrassing videos to a public forum where anyone could view it: you are haunting me from beyond the grave master

And the channel has both clips of Qui Gon and Obi wan as padawans, so there would definitely be fan compilation videos comparing their feral padawan energy. Obi Wan feels seen bc no one used to believe him when he told them that calm Master Jinn was actually crazier than him but now he finally has proof but then angst bc Qui Gon is not there so he can't rub his face in it :(

Anakin and ahsoka discovering that their cool and calm master used to be wilder and more feral than them before qui gon died and left him to raise a child: that's actually very sad.

The general public seeing Dooku in the bg of qui gon's padawan videos: is General Kenobi... fighting a war... against his jedi grandpa?

Anw this can go two ways: either this is just a cute thing that happened during the clone wars and everything else happened the same as canon OR it inadvertently saves the galaxy

Canon: the videos make everyone involved Feel Things but don't change their actions. The empire never gets around to banning the channel so Obi wan uses it as one of his last sources of comfort in the desert as he watches over luke. Once he reconnects with Qui-Gon's force ghost, they bond by watching old videos from the channel. Years later, Luke discovers Obi Wans old datapad and inadvertently finds out about the original viral video and the channel. It ends up being a very good reference for painting a picture of jedi life pre-empire. Luke uses it as a reference when building his jedi academy but not before spending a solid hour laughing at the padawan kenobi fail compilations

AU:

Dooku watching some of the videos and all the fluff (and possibly seeing the vlog where padawan qui gon talks about the differences between attachments and love with regards to jedi and bringing up his bond with dooku): Actually maybe I can leave the jedi order and make positive change without becoming a sith lord. Maybe I can help the jedi order without agreeing with everything they do.

Anakin watching the same video on attachments vs love and going to obi wan

Anakin: Do you love me master?

Obi wan: ???

Obi wan: You are my brother anakain??? Of course I love you??? But why are you asking me?? Are you okay?? Do you have something to confess perhaps?? Like about a senator?? A senator that has a name beginning with a p??

Anakin, panicking: Ah yes p-pa-palpatine did tell me a strange story about a wise sith lord when we went for our weekly bonding session yesterday

Obi wan: I -

Obi wan: I meant your marriage to Padme actually but wtf there is a lot to unpack there.

And anakin is just reeling from the fact that

1) obi wan loves him

2) obi wan knew about padme and didn't say anything

So he doesn't get angery when Obi wan brings the palpy matter to the jedi Council and investigates him. Then add in a few well-timed coincidences bc this is a fix it and yay palpy overthrown!!

Anakin prolly voluntarily leaves the order and becomes a happy trophy husband for Padme after a long talk with Obi wan about his future where he reevaluates his life decisions. ("Anakin you will be my brother whether or not you're in the order")

Obi wan meets Qui Gons force ghost and does get to rub it in his face that he was a less feral padawan than Qui Gon.

And they all lived happily ever after except palpatine who died angrily ever after.

[icyrambles]

one of the things i find consistently weird about transformers as a piece of media is how the decepticons keep being the bad guys without any really attempt at reworking them as a faction

pretty much every continuity that exists has the decepticons filling the role as the primary antagonists. here's a list of the tf media i've consumed over the past year; g1, animated, prime, cyberverse, earthspark, rotb, first 2 bayverse movies, idw1 + idw2, the first 5 issues of tf skybound, shattered glass, the first 10 episodes of rid15, and a few episodes of armada and beast wars. and literally all of those have the decepticons fulfilling the role of antagonists.

now i'm specifically not taking issue with the fact that the decepticons are the bad guys. that's not my problem here. my problem is that the franchise as a whole seems to have a problem with actually developing the decepticon characters and the faction as characters/concepts worth being antagonists

this isn't a dash on the existing pieces of transformers media just to be clear, i enjoy cartoonishly evil shenanigans as much as the next person (my favourite character is fucking tarn for goodness sake). instead please read through the rest of this post as a single person's critique of a tonal inconsistency throughout the franchise of transformers

with the more recent pieces of transformers media attempting to paint the decepticons in a more sympathetic light (see cyberverse and earthspark) i noticed a core writing flaw with how the teams behind these works tackled making the decepticons more morally grey characters.

and that's the fact that they decepticons are still just as evil as they are in the original g1 cartoon, just with a little more grey paint thrown over their war crimes. it's one of the main writing flaws i have with both idw1/2 and earthspark.

because those writing teams really want you to view the decepticons as less evil. they really want you to watch/read through their content and see the decepticons as a group of individuals who, while not right in their actions, still deserve to be treated as more than a villain of the week.

and i agree with this sentiment. i think the decepticons should be more than villains of the week who need to be defeated at all costs. i think the decepticons should get the opportunity to be fully developed characters with hopes, dreams, aspirations, flaws, and emotions just like their autobot counterparts.

but there's a problem with how these writing teams interact with the decepticons. and it's the fact that they're still the bad guys. even if you give megatron a redemption arc in earthspark, there's still the looming implication that he, along with an army, invaded a random planet and potentially killed millions. (it's a kid show i'm not expecting them to go into detail with all of megan's war crimes, but earthspark does imply that megatron did fuck up a lot of earth's shit)

idw does a slightly better job with this, showing that the autobots have their fair share of war crimes, but the decepticons are still the primary antagonists throughout the comic's run.

even shows that paint the decepticons as purely the bad guys have tonal issues with how they're written

taken animated for example. the autobots get to be fully developed characters with personality traits outside of just being the good guys. bumblebee is impulsive, he likes video games and racing and being a little shit, he's not a beacon of virtue. prowl is antisocial, he doesn't like communicating with his team, but he fucking love nature, he loves meditating. he has a whole backstory about wanting to avoid being drafted into a war for fucks sake.

but the animated decepticons don't get that. there's nothing about blitzwing or lugnut or starscream that makes them uniquely suited to being in the decepticon cast. none of them get to have defining character traits outside of being decepticons who need to be beaten.

the same can be said for prime.

while i don't particularly think that any of the tfp characters are written well, at least the autobots have reasons for their personalities. arcee is a jaded bitch because she watched both of her partners die right in front of her. optimus is distant because he lost his best friend to differing ideologies. ratchet is grouchy all the time because he's constantly running low on fuel and is probably worried about his only family dying horribly in a war while he sits on the sidelines.

but the decepticons. they're just evil. megatron gets so addicted to power that he hypes himself up on the space equivalent of hard drugs for most of the series. soundwave.... he's there i guess? shockwave decided to violate the laws of nature for shits and giggles because the series never decided to expand upon his character except for evil scientist. starscream gets to be a sniveling coward who gets beat up whenever he appears and we never learn why he acts this way.

time and time again, transformers has an issue with writing decepticons as anything more than the bad guys.

and the reason why i take issue with this, isn't just because it's "bad writing" it's because the decepticons have a habit of having backstories that involve being discriminated against and it leaves a very bad taste in my mouth when the group of people who are more than often classified as second class citizens on their own planet get lumped into the role of "bad guys who want to steal and murder and pillage" when they want to change the system that is actively discriminating against them

and this all sounds like a lot of complaining. and it is. but i do have a method of trying to remedy this mess. two ways actually

#1: the hard way. (aka, this is the harder of the writing solutions because it requires viewing the decepticons as more than villains)

instead of having the decepticons being a group of revolutionaries who loose their way and become evil and genocidal seemingly for no reason other than "oh well revolutions don't really work and anyone who starts one just wants to cause problems against the system" why don't writers actually try and view the decepticon faction for what it is in most cases a group of people who were heavily discriminated against and who want to change their planet to actually treat them more than objects.

cybertron is shown to be a shitty planet to live on in more continuity, i can find it perfectly believable that people would want to change the system through radial reform.

show me why the decepticons became the way that they are. don't just tell me that megatron was always a bad person who wanted to become a dictator. that's stupid and highly uncreative after it's been done 15 times in a row in every single continuity

i would highly prefer a series that takes place from the decepticon perspective. i wanna know more about them. why is starscream constantly trying to overthrow megatron? is it because he thinks megatron is a bad leader? does he have a plan for how he would change things if he did become leader? if he's just doing it because he's egotistical, does he have a backstory that made him the way that he is?

give me decepticons with hobbies and personalities outside of wanting to kill everything.

#2: the easy way (this is easier because it doesn't require radical re-imagining of the decepticons as a whole)

just make the decepticons the ruling class. genuinely, just make the decepticons the people in charge from the beginning. you wouldn't have to imagine that many changes. megatron can still be a warlord intent on conquering the galaxy (it's just re-framed through the lens of him always being this way instead of having to learn violence is a solution), starscream constantly vying for the throne is now much easier to understand because the faction isn't rising up from the lower class, they were always in power and starscream wants more of it.

it even works out for the autobots because them being the lower class rising up against a tyrannical force re-contextualizes their desperate want to defend planets being attack by the decepticons. they're not just doing it because it's the right thing, they're doing it because they know what it's like. and that makes their motivations seem more sympathetic than a fucking god complex of saving the "tiny pathetic humans who can't defend themselves"

the decepticons being purely the bad guys is actually the reason why i'm not gonna read the rest of the skybound comics. i have no interest in another comic that is functionally (at least from the five issues i've read) just a bloodier, more violent g1. it's disappointing that instead of trying to explore the existing transformers characters through a different lens other than "evil" tf writers keep making the decepticons the same old bad guys.

this franchise has so much potential for interesting stories, cyberverse proved that to me when they allowed the autobots to team up with clobber, dead end, and soundwave, but it's being held back by the pervasive trope of the decepticons being the bad guys in every single story

[poorlittleyaoyao]

Okay, I have officially gotten to the post-timeskip era of the show in my rewatch, so time for some overarching thoughts!

Basically, I owe my past self an apology, because a lot of things I'd assumed I missed the first time around due to being overwhelmed with information/ relying on Netflix's iffy subs/ not paying close attention... are simply not present in CQL canon and/or aren't explained.

Sunshot, for example. I came away from the show thinking Sunshot had only lasted for a few months, and up till now had felt very silly because it's a massive multi-year war, right? NOT IN THE SHOW IT ISN'T. Sunshot begins in earnest in response to Lotus Pier's destruction; it is introduced alongside the core transfer, which occurs 1-2 weeks after Lotus Pier's destruction. When WWX returns from the Burial Mounts three months + 1 week later, he hangs out with everyone in the Unclean Realm for around a month before they make a final push against Nightless City. No other military action is shown during this time. Based on all the timestamps given, the active combat portion of this war took place over a period of less than 6 months.

(the following is said with the full understanding that I might sound like an insufferable CinemaSins video)

The consolidation of the Massacre at Nightless City and the First Siege of the Burial Mounds to one terrible, horrible, no-good very bad couple of days also diminishes it. All the Wen remnants--every single one of them!! nobody is left there when WWX wakes up!--just decide to let themselves be executed on the off-chance that WWX will be left alone with his sought-after cursed object and get to happily rejoin society after accidentally killing his brother-in-law. Why on earth would they all agree to that, especially without consulting WWX first? WQ and WN alone, sure, but ALL of them? Even A-Yuan's caregivers? WQ herself says that the jianghu gentry already decided WWX is guilty no matter what proof WWX offers! How will this solve anything!

(On the topic of the Burial Mounds: I assume that the reason the Burial Mounds are inhabitable and people are freely able to come and go without getting obliterated by ghosts is that WWX tamed the place during his time there earlier. Otherwise, it isn't "WWX spent 3 months cultivating resentment to survive until he was powerful enough to escape thanks to his hard-fought refinement of the Yin Tiger Tally" and more "WWX spent 3 months doing evil ghost science in a desolate yet fully habitable haunted forest just because.")

I also didn't get what the big deal was about WWX, because he... didn't really do anything? And again, I figured I must've just missed something, but no! He does atrocities at Yiling as he pursues Wen Chao and then he just sits there dodging concerned questions from loved ones and punching JZX over soup until the last minutes of the final battle, during which he summons some evil clouds that make people fall down. That's it. And then everyone, himself included, acts like he's the strongest and scariest dude ever. Part of the problem is that they only have like 50 extras in any of the battle scenes so there's no sense of scale, but even if there WERE hordes of CGI dudes... that is one battle, one time. Declaring himself an instrumental part of Sunshot is an overstatement, and it also raises the question of why he didn't use Chenqing or the Yin Tiger Tally sooner. He does nothing but use Chenqing as a baton until things get truly dire. I'd be suspicious of him too, if I'm honest!

And Wen Ning! Wen Ning, the oh-so-scary Ghost General, kills like a dozen guys one time and people think he's a terrifying death machine. This could have been chalked up to overblown rumors--oh, WN is just a little guy! he is just sitting there with his turnips! it's so messed up that people think WWX's trusty soft-spoken friend is a mindless tool for violence! UNTIL QIONGQI PASS 2.0, where WWX uses him as PRECISELY THAT. Why is WN coming with him to Jinlintai anyway, if not as a weapon? He certainly wasn't invited as a guest! Does he really think JGS is going to let the not-zombie who killed his employees come to his grandson's party when JC isn't even willing to let WN attend the surprise soup picnic?

Speaking of Qiongqi Pass 2.0, I do not understand why, if the whole thing was a nefarious scheme orchestrated by JGY to kill his brother and cause turmoil, WWX and WN were allowed to return to the Burial Mounds. SMS has the ability to control WN, and WWX can't fly on a sword. Just use WN to subdue WWX, capture them both, take the Yin Tiger Tally from WWX, and gain your father's esteem for obtaining the cursed object he wants and bringing his favorite son's murderers to justice! Come ON, JGY! If you're going to be extra evil, at least be clever about it! You aren't even at your breaking point yet!

I think the adaptation changes--the Yin Iron stuff, the not-zombies, XY working with WRH, the fairy statue backstory with WN's soul being easily detachable--actually do work in the front half of the show, where it's not following the text as closely. These things go together decently on their own! But from Sunshot onward, the new lore and changed characterizations that can't be fully discarded clashes with novel canon plot points that are too major to skip. It's a weird reversal of what happened with the first FMA anime, where the first half more or less follows the manga with some core changes baked in, and the second half deviates based off those changes since it outpaced the manga and didn't want to spoil it, resulting in two high-quality but fully distinct canons. Here, with the story unfolding chronologically, we have a first half that deviates with a lot of new content, and a second half that has a text to follow, resulting in ????

I'm still having fun, but I knowwww thinking about literally anything is gonna be such a mess from here on out. It's a testament to how much I like the actors' work and the expanded time with the supporting characters (and how much I do NOT vibe with Book Wangxian lol) that this is still my preferred canon.

[asentienthaze]

Into The Woods: Why the movie was shit

I'm not the first person to talk about this, nor will I be the last. It's pretty widely accepted among theatre fans that Disney bungled up this fantastic show. But it's important nevertheless to talk about how it went wrong, 'cause adaptations are delicate things, and the core of a good adaptation is an understanding of the themes and messages that constitute the story, and not just the story itself. Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine together wove a fairly meticulous fabric that is this musical, and it's fascinating to see how Disney's adaptation reduced it to rags.

For a summary of this show's plot, I recommend watching the first few minutes of Sideways' video on the themes in this show, mainly because it's a fairly complex plot and he explains it well. This is especially important, since the plot of the movie is……definitely not the same.(The whole video is definitely worth a watch too, and it brings up points that I might talk about here too.) Done that? Good, let's keep going.

"The narrator comes on stage, and he starts, 'Once upon a time.' Now once he says that, the audience starts to relax inside. Now what I wanted to do was to wake them up immediately, so before [the narrator] gets to the fifth word, I wanted a loud sound from the orchestra, or the piano"

That was Stephen Sondheim talking about the very beginning of the show. The choices he made in the songs were almost all deliberate, they were for a reason.

Now what does the movie do? They say the entire first line of the song before playing the musical sting. They knew that they had to have that there, since it was part of the prologue song, but they didn't understand at all why the song was structured the way it was.

Let this be an omen as to how the movie will adapt this musical.

Another important part of the first song is the constant quarter note motion the piano makes throughout. It's what keeps the energy of the first song going, and is the song's connective tissue. Guess what the movie didn't do? As a result, it makes the prologue feel like five different disconnected small songs.

The main problem that the adaptation suffered, was the removal of seemingly small things, but which ultimately led to the plot of the movie collapsing in on itself.

The first major one is the removal of the narrator and the baker's father. Yes, the movie technically had a narrating voice, and the father got….like one scene, both played much more prominent roles in the original musical. The baker's father, initially a mysterious old man, pulled many of the threads that made the various characters really interact, and he's an outside force helping move the story along. As for the narrator…well it's important to note that the narrator is a character. A major feature of the show is that it's a story with characters, and the show knows that. The narrator dictated how the story would go, and when the witch sacrifices him to the giant, the characters are left to fend for themselves, and that is how most of the destruction in the second act really happens.

The second one is Rapunzel's death. In the musical Rapunzel is crushed by the giant, and it leads to Witch's Lament:

"This is the world I meant. / Couldn't you listen? / Couldn't you stay content, safe behind walls / As I could not?"

An important thing to note is while yes her relationship with Rapunzel is definitely toxic, there's a complexity that arises out of her over sheltering Rapunzel to protect her, and then as a result she comes to despise that "shelter", and is then ultimately killed. The fact that she is grieving the loss of her daughter plays largely into her character in the second act, something that is entirely lacking in the movie. SO MANY OF HER LINES get undermined by this one detail, that Rapunzel never died, and that she was wrong the whole time.

Lastly, songs that were cut. There are four main ones that are important to talk about.

First, Maybe They're Magic. It's sung right after the Baker and his wife sell the beans to get the cow. It's the first time the question of whether or not they'll really have to lie and possibly steal to obtain the items, and what the ethics of it really are, arises. It also exemplifies the character of the Baker's Wife, and her more clever side, which we further see when she obtains her items mostly through either deceit or persuasion. This glimpse into her character helps set her up for 'Moments in the Woods', a song much later which also expresses her inner thoughts.

Two: Ever After/Prologue: So Happy. This is how the show ends its first act and begins the second. In the movie the events in the second act occur immediately after the wedding, while in the musical there is a time gap between the acts. The music is referenced in the instrumental track, but it's never actually sung. Although the songs are definitely very much suited for a theatrical performance, cutting both the songs means that the resulting events that occur within them have to be shuffled and rearranged. The way that the characters make their way into the woods changes, and the prince and Rapunzel run off together much later, which doesn't allow for their later scenes to ever happen in the movie. It's where the cracks in the movie start to show, and ultimately the way the decisions made for earlier parts snowballs into the later parts of the movie.

Three: Agony Reprise. Agony as a song is famous from both the movie and the show. However the reprise happens in the second act, when it turns out the two princes are not focused on the giant, but in fact on another maiden somewhere else, much like how they were in the first act. Except now they're married. Removing this song is basically like telling a joke without the punchline. Yes, Agony by itself is funny, but it's the perfect setup for its reprise. As the plot stood in the movie, it's clear why it couldn't be put in, but,,,like that's the problem. That's the whole problem

Finally: No More. This song is the one I'm most mad that they cut out. It's the final interaction the Baker has with his father, just after he runs away leaving his baby son with Cinderella. The movie,,,,badly paraphrases it, and then cuts to the Baker,,,,,crying? There's no actual emotional development, no actual introspection, and it removes one of the best written scenes in the show.

"Where are we to go?

Where are we ever to go?

Running away—we'll do it

Why sit around, resigned?

Trouble is, son

The farther you run

The more you feel undefined.

For what you left undone,

And more, what you left behind"

I implore you, watch this scene, if nothing else. It's a work of art, and the fact that it's completely cut out is a crime.

Pretty much every character in the movie became a duller and flatter version of their original, but the most egregious examples are Jack and his mother. Jack is older in the show, significantly so. He's basically in his late teens, and is sweet and naive, but not particularly bright. In the movie, however, he's,,,,a child. Like just straight up a child, and now his personality is no longer "too ungrounded for his age" but instead it's exactly how a child his age might act. Conversely, Jack's mother is overbearing, but ultimately 'stern but sweet', and is much more gentle with Jack than in the movie. In the movie though, she's mean and almost callous towards Jack, in a way that doesn't make her an enjoyable character.

I won't blame the actors for most of this. Yes, a point can be made that some of the acting itself may have been bad, but most of the fault in what I've talked about goes to the directors and script writers.

In every adaptation, choices need to be made. Since this was no longer a theatrical performance, liberties had to be taken to fit it into a film format. But each choice has a consequence, and their choices to change parts of the story snowballed into the climax of the movie, making it almost entirely different from the musical.

We talk about Into The Woods as a Sondheim show, but it is just as much a show by Lapine as it is by Sondheim. Lapine's ability to craft a story with strong and clear themes, no matter how complex or abstract the plot is, is one of the show's greatest assets. The movie was a disservice to original stage musical, but most of all it was a disservice to Lapine, taking his carefully crafted story and muddling and twisting it, until the end product had killed the central spirit of the original.

[nomsfaultau]

(Potentially) daily ask №2

Fault!Ranboo and Genloss!Ranboo edition due to the Founder's cut coming out today!

Fault!Ranboo

Okay does his thing kinda work like the shy man? So photos and videos count too? To the same degree?

Do they have any backstory lore? Before they were captured by the foundation?

Unstoppable force vs an immovable object question. Could anyone from the main gang defeat them? Like, how strong are they actually assuming someone looked them in the eye? Phil doesn't count he's a literal god.

If they and the main gang met, do you think they'd get along? What sort of relationships would they have with each member of the gang?

Would making a one-way mirror glasses for them work to basically disable their powers? Like they can see everything but the others can't see their eyes? Of course you could probably still get a glance from under the glasses considering their height but uh.. idk man, ski mask. But one-way mirror.

At this point you might as well count the universe in which I just spontaneously appear there an au because I can and will give you hypothetical scenarios of me interacting with the characters. On this note. BOOM *spontaneously revives them, convinces the whole ass foundation that they never existed so that they won't be searched for, revives that one doctor's wife, gives Ranboo a ski mask and teleports them to sbi* DONE WOO HI HOW ARE YA FEELIN'? (directed at them)

Gives them their favourite cookies for the emotional damage

Generation-loss!Ranboo

Do you know about genloss? Do you watch it? I know you said that you're not a fan of horror but tbh it's mostly psychological horror and some gore. Mostly silly though.

Are you gonna be watching Founder's cut today when it comes out in like 1.5 hours?

Any thoughts on it? Place to rant basically

The fault crew + Ranboo get teleported into the world of genloss suddenly. Specifically during choice while Ranboo and Charlie are running around the mall. How well does it go for either of them?

[Spoilers for Fault. like really stinking big ones]

Initially I thought not, but I think the real core of the powerset is being unbeholden. So he would go on a rampage if eye contact was made via camera/video. However, the ender pearl is a physical object that can't pass through walls when they teleport. So I suppose they'd just be determinedly trying to burrow through a wall, always knowing exactly where the person was but unable to reach.

Ranboo is alas a very very very minor character currently, like 'backstory to a tertiary supporting character' minor. Does not have backstory before the Foundation explored in or out of Fault...but will be showing up again eventually so more may be explored at that time. But as of yet, not really. Mostly because Ranboo's origins would have to be extreeeeemely far back in the timeline due to being (biig spoiler here) the source of the Foundation's amnestics. Philza has mentioned knowing of the Foundation for at least a few centuries, but also they do a very good job of being unknown. This gets into very foggy territory that's the bane of any urban fantasy's existence actually, because presumably if modern society is nearly identical to our own something has to have been suppressing anomalies from the dawn of time, in this case via Ranboo amnestics or some other means. So unless we assume time travel (which many SCP stories do, and which would be TERRIBLE for my story) I suppose Ranboo -or the phenomena of Ranboo, this could just be the latest vessel- could be very very old. I'd caution on the side of vessel, so potentially they began as a human ? or some other creature that then was changed by the god/entity using him? This entity then having had many many forms over time, frequently captured by use of the Foundation/analogous organization. Perhaps it was once extremely powerful, dampening the memories of humanity for its own reasons, leading to the current regime. oh. so i've just like solved a major world building problem. sick. Oh god I have racing thoughts about this now....

I think most could tbh. I mean Lawrence Lethe (ew) defeated them. In a physical fight Ranboo represents a horror monster threat to base humans, mostly by being tall fast strong and vicious plus some occasional teleportation, but has a very glaring weakness. Tubbo wouldn't for moral reasons but could also just fly way high up so Ranboo can't throw the enderpearl far enough. Tommy's Red might count close enough to water and dissolve them, though there is a debate on if Red would be able to thwart them from attacking him? That's a can of worms you could argue in any direction you want I think so I won't touch it. The Blade al.ways.wins. Like no matter what. Uh oh what's that the forecast looks like a storm how unfortunate anyway deadzo. Phil would turn that sucker to glass. And Wilbur loves eating sand. Though I suppose if he managed to eat their soul he could get Ranboo powers...? Anyway smack down that twink is OBLITERATED.

Ranboo will meet at least some of the main gang albeit as a skull and pile of sand. Tubbo is going to be. Well. in a REALLY funky head space due to encounters with Void madness. But they're going to be like???? our husband????????? not our husband? what plane of the universe are we on?? How do we know what is Real??? Existence is gonna fall apart-- while Ranboo is just like aw thanks for rescuing me random stranger this is great! ^-X Wilbur thinks Ranboo is very inconvenient to move around but at least they don't eat much? Ranboo doesn't like being around it because the void keeps nibbling. Philza would have STRONG feelings about Ranboo due to his horrific experience with amnestics. But also would acknowledge that Ranboo hadn't much say in the matter, and ultimately treat them politely yet indifferently as he does most people he doesn't view as important (anyone that isn't his Collected or a problem). The Blade is very stiff and unhappy as he isn't as good separating them from all of his friends forgetting about him. Bit more of a problem than Phil since The Blade usually handles his problems extremely directly via murder, but he has enough character development at this point to see killing Ranboo won't help. After some friction he gets over it and after some awkwardness is probably down to joke around and be his normal dorky self with Ranboo. Tommy would have resentment about what happened to Phil since he's very loyal, but then Ranboo would make him laugh and he'd forget about it lol. Also 2x scared of touching them.

It's based on Ranboo feeling like they're being perceived to an extent? So I think if Ranboo thought they were being watched they'd also go on a rampage. I think the Foundation just blinded them with a blindfold. Or morbidly, perhaps would rip out their eye and wait for it to regrow, to create a stash of ender pearls for Foundation personnel use...?

Lawrence would be reeling, and then probably assume having the wifey back means his redemption arc is finished. This would cause Many problems later on. Speaking of problems, the Foundation would be PANICKING. Oh my god. I think if convinced Ranboo never existed there'd be utter chaos of them trying to figure out what cognito hazard is messing with them. So while the Foundation is set on fire and the entire premise of the series collapses, let's ignore that and see how the gang is doing! I'm going to say they're dropped at the end of the most recent chapter. Assuming they don't startle and attack in self defense, Tommy is utterly delighted to get even more friends because he's so starved for people, Tubbo is trying to figure out if the wife revival thing would work for themselves/Rhodes (potentially while simultaneously flirting with Ranboo for maximum comedic value)((but also probably Rosalind since that's destroying them)), The Blade is trying to figure out if the teleportation act could be used to break out of the Foundation in the future, Wilbur is disgruntled by strangers (one of which is HUMAN), and Phil is mostly trying to figure out if there's a security risk if they could be found...but is probably quickly assured it's fine given he got Tommy via accidental summoning shenanigans. Since I don't think the ski mask thing would work, Ranboo would probably be blindfolded. I think Tubbo would act as seeing eye bees for them, developing little short hand codes to help them move around and really bonding over that. Phil is the type of guy to do blind fold training and have tips. The Blade commiserates with them over the time he lost an eye, and Wilbur with being blinded by the Foundation via light. And potentially the reactions from 4 (-Tubbo bc of timeline, Wilbur bc revived fully) if more well adjusted since the gang is doing better here than in epoch 3-4.

Wilbur insists he eats the cookies first (to make sure they aren't poisoned of course of course). He tells everyone they're disgusting and tries to eat them all but Phil puts a stop to that. Tommy declares that he is perfectly emotionally fine and is only stealing the cookies because he deserves a reward. The Blade argues he should get way extra because of his size. While everyone is bickering Tubbo yoinks them and flies away, only to get chased down by Philza, who distributes them, and reminds everyone else to thank you. Instant Phil points for making his Collected happy.

Genloss

Not really haha. Haven't seen anything of it. I know zilch, except i think a surgery happens and niki is on a carousal whatever that means? Full transparency, I mostly just watched Techno and then Tommy stuff for more Techno content.

4. As I know nothing of genloss, I can't do much here. HOWEVER. There is a pivotal scene in Fault that will take place in a mall. So we can imagine Ranboo and Charlie frolicking in the background amongst piles and piles of Foundation MTF soldier corpses while the main characters have a terse argument about philosophies, morals, and custody?

[fatuismooches]

*you feel a terrifying presence enter the room*

i don’t know if you’ve heard about goodbye, eri by tatsuki fujimoto, but your fragile reader concept just reminded me of that.

in the manga, the main character is recording all his moments with his bestfriend, eri. he’s using his phone to save all the good times he’s ever had with her, because eri has a sickness. over the months her sickness worsens and he keeps recording these memories of eri on his camera/phone. in the last video, he’s shown recording eri in a hospital bed. by the end of the whole recording, he says “goodbye, eri.”

I couldn’t help but imagine fragile reader and dottore in this, they eerily reminded me of goodbye, eri. like what if zandik made a device to record all your interactions together only to end up having videos of you from centuries ago, with you now being in a comatose state and he, no longer able to make new memories with you. having only recordings left of you in a device.

throughout the manga, eri is always shown to be happy in the clips shown of her. she stayed positive even in her final hours. so imagine fragile reader trying to keep zandik hopeful for their recovery all whilst deteriorating in front of him.

the rest of the novel is silly, but the beginning of it is so sad. bro after eri dies the main character started to spiral. he even has to record his moms death.

Sorry for the small synopsis about the manga itself.. it’s really beautiful and I felt like your fragile reader concept was similar to it - just without all the modern stuff.. :,)

*my body quivers at this sudden presence*

LORD... alright so i decided to go read it because you had me intrigued and i also like some of fujimoto's other works and WOW... I had to keep pausing while reading cuz omfg… you weren’t joking that was SAD. The way my heart dropped at the vampire doesn’t have long left to live… and afraid of being forgotten… I JUST KNEW SOMETHING BAD WAS GONNA HAPPEN UGHHHH!! “The rest of it was silly” NO IT WASNT?!?!? I MEAN SOME OF IT WAS BUT STILL. and that ending. i had no idea that would happen. But yeah very fragile reader and Dottore core 😞

I imagine fragile reader is also scared of being forgotten, whether they're alive or dead. Though obviously, it's not very logical, they're scared that one day, Dottore would wake up and simply not care about them anymore. Or if they die, he would forget them and all the memories shared would be for nothing. He's the only person in all of Teyvat who remembers you and your past, so if he forgets, then it's as if you never existed at all. It's cruel to imagine. Although it hurts, you always try to hide your pain, whether it's your thoughts or your actual condition, from Dottore. You don't want to burden him with your feelings. You should be able to handle them yourself, you think. Dottore has so much on his plate too after all, you can deal with your problems by yourself. So... you'll just keep smiling even when it hurts to do so.

AND YEAHHHH i love that idea so much ❤️ my moot Kai made a similar brainrot a while ago! I think it's sooo cute because the idea of him making a whole new invention just for us is so romantic <3 And i think you and Kai have already touched on all the possible angst for the recording device brainrot... so I'll add some fluff! In that manga, there are panels of Eri going to a few pretty places and having casual fun with Yuta. I like to imagine that after you wake up, and when you're finally able to go outside, the segments always make sure to record you at every new place you two go to. To add to the collection.

[arcanemadman]

How exactly is Subhuman lyrical character assassination for Dante?

Ok. I'm not looking forward to writing this but…

So you've probably seen that there are some mixed opinions on this particular song, so allow me to clarify. I would like to preface this by stating that Subhuman is one of the few things in the world that I feel genuine hatred toward, which is either amusing to think about or outright pathetic. I actually can't listen to any part of the song without feeling anxiety or anger. As such, I have avoided listening to the song again.

First of, lets talk about the original version of the song. The original was sung by suicide silence, who at one point a popular deathcore band until the death of their main vocalist, after which they spiraled into disaster and alienating their fan base. Their version on the song, without exaggeration, sounded like pigs squealing. High pitched, badly mixed music by a washed out band who's new main vocalist also happened to be a pedo. These factors culminated into the song, upon being released, getting over 13,000 dislikes before the video was deleted from YouTube. Seriously, when people first did listens like you do they were, at best, laughing.

So they replace the vocalist, problem solved right? No. This is actually the second attempt by composer cody matthew johnson at a theme for Dante, the first being a remix of Devils Never Cry for Marvel vs Capcom Infinite, and is largely considered the worst and only bad version of the song. And when advertising this song on his website, he advertised it as the theme of "the foul mouthed anti-hero" Dante, AKA reboot Dante.

In other words, he made it for the wrong character. Johnsons reaction to the backlash was to throw a tantrum and saying he's "happy to stir the pot", ignoring the fact that the original version was actually painful to listen to (this isn't hyperbole, seriously don't take my word for it and listen to the original version and you'll get what I mean) and the fact that it was sung by a pedophile. Recently he also related the backlash he got to the abuse targeted at actress Lily Gao for her performance in the Resident Evil 4 remake, which is deeply insulting considering she was subjected to racist abuse and harassed off social media.

And even then, the song itself good for what it's supposed to be. As a character theme, it's character regression for Dante. It's an angry, spiteful song that goes on about how Dante struggles with this evil inside him, how he hates all demonkind and how he's a rage filled monster that tears through everything in his way. But that's not Dante. At one point, Dante did have anger towards demons and hate that part of himself, but his character ark in Devil May Cry 3 was accepting that part of himself and growing as a person. DMC3 is a prequel, mind you. In universe, he got over those feelings over 25 years ago.

When faced with demons, he often offers to show them mercy even if they don't accept, because he knows that just as any human can do evil, any devil can do good. He spares Trish in DMC1, a demon created for the sole purpose of killing him, and in turn she becomes his trusted friend. In DMC2, he refuses to let Lucia kill herself because her fear of hurting humans proves she's not a monster to him. In the anime, he's hired to kill a demon called Brad and instead finds him in a bar, talks with him to figure out what his deal was, and then helped Brad protect his human girlfriend and kill his demonic master. In fact, he's far more merciful to demonic enemies than his human ones, who he kills without ever offering mercy, because at its core those that give up their humanity are worse than those that never had it to begin with.

That's mainly it. The thesis statement of the entire series is this - The human ability to care for others, to love someone, be it family, friend, or romance. If you care enough to cry, THAT is what makes you human. Dante is powerful not just because of the demonic power of his father, but because of the human heart of his mother. He is the son of both Sparda and Eva, and he's proud of that. But the very title of subhuman contradicts the entire point of the series. It implies he is less than human, but he's not more human or more demon, he's both, and that's the point of him as a character. Vergil rejected his humanity, while Dante embraced it. He's reached an equilibrium in his soul and grown as a person, embodying both worlds as a devil with ability to cry. Subhuman doesn't focus on Dante's humanity at all, it's all about how he's inhuman.

You remember how in Devils Never Cry the harder and softer lyrics are separate and initially clash, representing his demon and human halves, but in the end they come together into a singular song, representing Dante's acceptance of both sides of himself. There's none of that nuance in this song.

And removing the character assassination, it's just not a good representation of Dante. As I said it feels angry and violent, but Dante is charming and stylish. Of course he does have some resentment to aspects of his life, at times wishing he could have a normal life, but he enjoys what he's got. With the other character themes, the lyrics feel like something the characters would say in battle; With Devil Trigger, I can see Nero smirking and shouting "Bang, bang, bang! Pull my devil trigger!" as he throttles his sword as his enemies charge at him. With Crimson Cloud, V talking in poetry all the time so "Saviour! Bloodstain! Hellfire! Shadow! Heaven on a landslide!" sounds like something he'd read out to himself as his demons tore up the battle. And with Bury the Light, Vergil would totally proclaim "I am the storm that is approaching!" before unleashing a devastating attack.

But with Dante, who taunts by throwing a rose at his enemies, laughing and pointing, and playfully beckoning at his enemies to keep trying their best, I can't see that person screaming at the top of their lungs in fury "YOU CANNOT KILL ME!" Dante isn't someone who feels the need to prove anything to himself or his enemies. It's part of his charm that powerful demons will fight him, expecting a respectful battle with the son of the legendary Sparda, but instead they get their ass beat by an idiot more interested in seeing what he can do with a hodgepodge of weapons than taking things seriously. And when he does get serious, it's more quite, closer to "you've got my attention and I'll make you regret it." It's too insecure. A better line would be something like "Just try to kill me!" but even then, it's still screaming. There's no subtlety here.

None of this is helped by the fact that the song is so plodding. The low BPM makes it feel plodding, and while I'm certainly no expert on music that sort of feeling hurts in a game as fast as DMC, especially for Dante, who while not as fast as Vergil is by far the most chaotic character to play as. Teleporting, swapping guns, swapping weapons, swapping styles, Dante has over 100 potential actions that can loop into each other freely. Subhuman doesn't capture how chaotic it feels to play as Dante. It's going for the power fantasy of Kratos, an unstoppable juggernaut as opposed to the power fantasy of a stylish showdown. You don't play as Dante to strike fear into demonkind, you play him to see just what bullshit you can get away with even in the most dire situations.

That is ultimately why Subhuman fails and betrays Dante as a character.

I'll admit, from my personal experience I tried everything to get myself to like the song. I listened to every edit trying to salvage it, every version that changed it up, all hoping that Dante would get the theme he deserved. But I think that's why I hate it so much now. I desperately wanted it to be good. But at it's core, the song is fundamentally flawed it what it sets out to do, represent Dante as a character, and it needed a full overhaul that was never realistic within the time frame of it being revealed to the public and the games release. Honestly, after what he did to Devils Never Cry they should never have given Dantes theme to someone as inexperienced as cody and his works before and since have been middling at best. But he was the real thing that killed subhuman for me. Anyone that listened to the original version knows it was BAD, but he acted like he was a visionary who was too smart for the rest of us and ignoring all criticism including, need I remind you, HIRING A PEDOPHILE. The recent thing with Lily Gao I find particularly infuriating because what she has been going through is unquestionably awful, yet he made it about himself. As if a white composer who complained about the whole thing on twitter suffered the same abuse as an asian woman who was chased off social media. That inability to self reflect on anything and blaming everyone that disagrees with you is just arrogance in the end.

I always get really angry whenever I think about this song. If I had the same passion for writing things I actually cared about I'd be an acclaimed author by now. I don't like how much I think about this song so much. As I said at the state hating a song this much is either amusing or pathetic. But Dante is a character that holds a certain importance for who I am so I care more than I should. I know not everyone had the same experience I have, or don't really care about the music so long as the game is fine, but the music in Devil May Cry has always been spectacular, and the character themes have been brilliant ways to prove who the characters are deep down. So for Dante, the face of the series, to be stuck with the worst one in the entire series in the grand return of the series until the next game comes around… it's fucking infuriating.

[dankusner]

Kinda makes me feel small and insignificant. Like I was the subject of a Kendrick Lamar diss track.

Drake and Kendrick Lamar’s feud — the biggest beef in recent rap history — explained

In one of the biggest beefs in recent hip-hop history, Drake and Kendrick Lamar are feuding — to the point that police were asked about their feud after a security guard was shot outside Drake’s Toronto mansion on Tuesday.

But it wasn’t always this way.

Over a decade ago, the pair collaborated on a few songs:

On Drake’s 2011 track “Buried Alive Interlude,” on Lamar’s 2012 release “Poetic Justice,” and on A$AP Rocky’s “(Expletive) ’ Problems” that same year.

That didn’t last very long.

In 2013, Pulitzer Prize winner Lamar was featured on Big Sean’s “Control,” in which he called out a slew of contemporary rappers including Drake, J. Cole, Meek Mill, Pusha T, A$AP Rocky, Big K.R.I.T., Wale, Pusha T and even Big Sean among them.

“I got love for you all, but I’m trying to murder you,” he rapped. “Trying to make sure your core fans never heard of you.”

Drake responded in a Billboard cover story, saying “I know good and well that Kendrick’s not murdering me, at all, in any platform.”

Shortly afterward, at the 2013 BET Hip-Hop Awards, Lamar took another jab at Drake.

Over the next few years, the rappers launched disses at each other with less frequency.

Drake had other beefs with other performers, like Meek Mill in 2015, and most infamously Pusha T in 2018, where the latter rapper dropped “The Story of Adidon,” revealing Drake is a father.

In October 2023, J. Cole perhaps accidentally reignited the beef on “First Person Shooter” with Drake.

He rapped “Love when they argue the hardest MC / Is it K-Dot? Is it Aubrey? Or me?” referencing Lamar and Drake’s birth name, Aubrey Graham.

“We the big three like we started a league / but right now, I feel like Muhammad Ali.”

Which brings us to the current moment.

Here’s a timeline of the developments in recent weeks — it should be noted that diss tracks between rappers often include exaggerated truths and unsubstantiated rumors for dramatic effect, and that police have not said the feud led to Tuesday’s shooting.

March 22: Lamar disses Drake on Future and Metro Boomin’s “Like That”

“The big three,” Lamar raps, referencing J. Cole’s boast. “It’s just big me.”

He references Drake’s 2023 album “For All the Dogs,” and also compares himself to Prince and Drake to Michael Jackson: “Prince outlived Mike Jack.”

J. Cole soon releases a response, “7 Minute Drill,” but quickly apologizes for it onstage at his Dreamville Festival in Raleigh, N.C.

April 13: Drake’s “Push Ups” leaks

Drake’s response is leaked and later premiered by DJ Akademiks.

“You ain’t in no Big Three, SZA got you wiped down, Travis got you wiped down, Savage got you wiped down,” he raps about Lamar.

It also assumed Drake takes aim at Future, Metro Boomin, Rick Ross and The Weeknd — Ross releases a response track shortly afterward.

April 24: Drake responds with a second, AI-assisted diss track, “Taylor Made Freestyle”

Drake’s second diss track used artificial intelligence technology to include verses from Tupac and Snoop Dogg, two of Lamar’s influences.

In his own verse, Drake accuses Lamar of delaying his response track because of the imminent release of Taylor Swift ‘s “The Tortured Poets Department.” (Lamar collaborated with Swift on “Bad Blood.”)

Tupac’s estate threatened to sue Drake in response, so he removed the song from his social channels.

Snoop Dogg responded to the news in a video on Instagram.

“They did what? When? How? Are you sure?” he said. “I’m going back to bed. Good night.”

April 30: Lamar hits back with a nearly six-and-a-half-minute track, “Euphoria”

This is where it gets more complicated.

Lamar’s “Euphoria” hits like an opus, unleashing a slew of allegations against Drake.

He comes after Drake’s skills as a rapper, use of AI, appearance, racial identity, and parenting.

“I got a son to raise, but I can see you know nothin’ ’bout that,” Lamar raps.

The title is a reference to the HBO series “Euphoria,” of which Drake is an executive producer.

Lamar teases that he’ll go “back-to-back” with his tracks.

May 3: Lamar drops a follow-up, “6:16 in LA”

In Lamar’s next diss, titled after a time and location like Drake is wont to do, Lamar targets the company Drizzy keeps.

“Have you ever thought that OVO was working for me? / Fake bully, I hate bullies,” he raps, referencing Drake’s record label. “You must be a terrible person / Everyone inside your team is whispering that you deserve it.”

According to Billboard, the song was produced by Sounwave and Jack Antonoff — the latter notably Swift’s longtime producer.

It also samples Al Green’s “What a Wonderful Thing Love Is,” on which one of Drake’s relatives played guitar.

May 3: Drake launches “Family Matters”

Drake hits back with a music video and a nearly eight-minute response, in which he alleges abuse and infidelity in Lamar’s relationship with his fiancee.

May 4: Lamar responds with “Meet the Grahams”

Almost immediately afterward, Lamar releases “Meet the Grahams,” which begins with the rapper addressing Drake’s son: “I’m sorry that man is your father.”

Lamar also addresses Drake’s parents, and “a baby girl,” alleging that Drake has a secret daughter.

He also labels Drake a “predator,” without elaborating.

May 4: Less than 24 hours later, Lamar drops “Not Like Us”

Hours later, Lamar doubles down, releasing “Not Like Us,” produced by DJ Mustard.

“Say, Drake, I hear you like ’em young / You better not ever go to cell block one,” Lamar raps.

May 5: Drake softens his blows on “The Heart Part 6”

Referencing Lamar’s “The Heart” series, Drake drops “The Heart Part 6” in response.

In the song, which samples Aretha Franklin’s “Prove It,” Drake challenges Lamar’s allegations, doubles down on his own against him, and says that he does not have a secret daughter.

He sounds notably lethargic on the song — potentially taking a final bow with verses like, “You know, at least your fans are gettin’ some raps out of you / I’m happy I could motivate you.”

[afoxdoeswrite]

I just got out of watching the Five Nights at Freddy's movie a couple hours ago. Here's some thoughts.

They're under this cut because obviously, a lot of spoilers.

On the FNaF movie;

It’s sure a movie. It didn’t need to be FNaF.

Let me preface this with some context; I’m fond of FNaF. I wasn’t in much of the big early craze. In fact I don’t think I really got into things until like, 2017, so coming up to the end of the early games. But I’m very fond of it. I love the lore, it’s a tangled disaster and everything about it is a mess. But I like that there’s plot holes everywhere to poke into, and that there’s about six different arguments for so many different things, and generally I like it because it’s a mess.

I’m admittedly not super up to date on the books and their lore, but that’s because I don’t have the free time to buy that many books and also read them. I’ve been working on that, mostly through things like the various wikis. I’d definitely not call myself up to date on the level that the Youtube lore video makers are, but I’m comfortably aware of a decent amount of things.

So with that in mind, the movie.

Now don’t get me wrong, it’s a decent movie. It’s not great.

Which is admittedly a problem when it’s had a development time of like five years or something? But hey.

The problem comes from the fact that it’s not really horror. At least. Not Five Nights at Freddy’s horror. It seems in some ways to bill itself more as a mystery- except, it’s a FNaF movie. If you know anything about FNaF, you can probably guess the ‘plot twist’ within the first few minutes of the mystery coming up. You could honestly remove all the FNaF elements and replace it with a Chuck E. Cheese, or some other Legally Distinct Restaurant With Robots, and get the same sort of energy.

Is it creepy? Sure. They do the atmosphere for the Pizza Place great, honestly. The tension is pretty good. And sure, I’ll let it slide that it is horror in that. The tension is good, there’s a creeping sense of not knowing what’s around the corners, the sense of being hunted. It’s good.

It didn’t need to be FNaF. It really, truly didn’t.

Let me explain.

The core of FNaF, the beating heart of it, is that it’s a survival horror where you’re locked in a room. You can’t see what’s coming for the majority of the game; you click the lights on your doors to see if they’re right outside, but that only works for two of the four. For the other two- Freddy and Foxy- as well as for tracking both Bonnie and Chica around the building, you have the cameras! It’s FNaF’s big mechanic for the first three games, and even the later ones have something similar to that.

The movie doesn’t use that.

(This is admittedly also my problem with Security Breach, but that’s a talk for another time.)

If the movie had given me Mike Schmidt, stuck in his office at the restaurant, being hunted by animatronics and having to defend the room, I’d’ve been happy. Sure, maybe it’s a little hard to make that a full movie. But there’s nothing to say he couldn’t also leave the room. Mix it up, use the cameras to keep track of things, make Mike too afraid to leave that safe place at first, but then make it so it’s either run or die, and then make things more mobile. Keep the cameras somehow; they’re linked to a tablet in the games, maybe use that.

But instead the movie gives us the FNaF office setting as a background to the family drama going on outside. It’s used as a place for Mike to have a job, and a place for him to talk to the ghosts while obsessing over finding out who took his brother.

And there’s another thing. The family drama frontline is also pretty meh. It’s used to push why Mike needs a job so much, why he takes the Freddy’s job even though it’s utter crap. But it’s basically dropped half way through the movie into a sub plot, and then isn’t resolved. The aunt just disappears. It’s sort of implied that she’s killed- which opens up another host of issues but Hey-, the people the aunt was using are all killed half way through and only used for some shock horror in the final climax of the film, and those guys are where a solid amount of the horror even comes from, with their invasion of Freddy’s and the following hunt.

If they’d taken that hunt into the rest of the film, that’d be great.

Continuing back, the plot with Abby is also… a bit flat. She’s got an imaginary friend! Neat! Mike has to take her to Freddy’s for work and she makes friends with the ghosts in the robots! Also neat!

The ending is boring. It’s dramatic, it’s tense. It’s boring. And honestly, my reasons why is entirely tied up with my next point;

William. Freaking. Afton.

This is about to get a bit non-chronological with the movie plot.

Now admittedly, in the setting of the movie, his entire existence isn’t nearly as groan-inducing as it is in the games. Especially the later games.

(My opinions on Security Breach continue to appear.)

But he is criminally misused in this movie. He’s why Mike’s brother disappeared, and so was likely killed. Yeah ok that’s fair. I don’t believe that’s how Afton has ever been presented as working like that in the games, but sure. I’ll take it.

Afton is able to control the animatronics? Sure…? I mean he kinda does that at one point, if you want to take the FNaF 3 post-night games as that. The Shadow Freddy in those minigames isn’t exactly Afton’s style at all, I’ve always assumed it to be some other ghost and I think a lot of people agree with that, but hey. We can work with that.

Afton appears in the last like, ten minutes or so of the movie, he rants for a bit, and is dragged off by the bots. He gets springlocked. He’s shut in one of the back rooms, presumably to meet his FNaF 3 ending cutscene fate of being stuck back there to rot. He’s hinted at before then, but the main villain of literally the entire series isn’t used.

And then there’s the Vanessa stuff.

Ok I would first like to point out; Vanessa introduces herself as Vanessa Shelly. Could this be a fake name? Sure. Or maybe she changed her name. But that would not be necessary at all. Vanessa in the games is Vanessa A., no last name given. The fandom is happily divided on if she’s an Afton or not. It’s right up there with the Vanny/Vanessa arguments. The point stands is that the movie nicely sets up that this isn’t the same Vanessa as Vanessa the Pizzaplex Security Guard.

My friend I tell you, when I say I groaned aloud when the whole ‘he’s my father’ line came up? I groaned. My soul left my body. We had to pause watching because the others in the room were laughing so hard at my reaction that no-one could hear anything.

I am so tired of this, man. I know some of this comes from having dealt with the last decade of franchise and the endless nightmare that is FNaF 6’s nice fairly neat ending followed by Ultimate Custom Night and Help Wanted and Security Breach.

(And Ruin. But Ruin is slightly less awful for this.

Barely.

Rant for another time.)

But I am so tired of William Afton being connected to everyone. Movie team. We have three canon children for Afton already. I understand if you didn’t want to poke the game lore snake with that stick. But you also didn’t need to do this.

I will admit. Do I know how they would have done the William Afton Info Dump- sorry, Dramatic Reveal- without Vanessa The Convenient Daughter? No. Were there options? Certainly. Hell. You have the ghosts of his victims wandering around. Remove the ‘Afton is controlling them’ bit. Have the kid tell Mike who this guy is.

In the games it’s implied Afton is actually arrested for the murders, but let go due to lack of evidence. You could use that too! Have Mike find out about the murders from Vanessa, like he does, have him go home and do some research, and find out about this William Afton guy who was taken in and let go. If you want to keep your dramatic family should-be-a-B-plot, that can be when Mike starts to think that maybe it was this same guy that took Garrett; link the fact that the ghosts of the Freddy’s kids keep appearing in his dream about his brother, and there you go.

Or tie it to Abby’s drawing thing. He sees the drawing, finds out the kids told her about Garrett, puts it together that maybe this Afton guy who was accused of potentially killing the kids at Freddy’s is also linked to what happened to Garrett, and that’s why they keep showing up in his dream. Ta-da, no need for Vanessa to be Afton’s kid.

Is it a perfect change? God no. But the movie isn’t perfect either by any means, so I don’t see why that should be a complaint.

But going forward.

The ending wasn’t bad, I’ll give the movie that. It’s not. Grand. I will admit that I did not think that we needed that whole Afton Face Reveal moment that we got. It’s kind of pitiful. And the drawings thing being how they break the control is also pretty meh. Nicely foreshadowed, but meh. If you take out the Afton control thing, then you don’t need that. Or alternatively, maybe the bots are listening to Afton-in-the-Springsuit because… it’s a springsuit. It’s canon to FNaF 2 that they can’t tell a bot from a human just using a mask, so why would a suit be different? They just think it’s another bot, so they listen.

Reveal that the Spring Bonnie isn’t just another suit but is a person by just. Damaging it, or something? Vanessa shoots him in the movie, use that fact. Use the taser and have that set the springlocks off. Something that reveals that it’s a person in there.

You can also do the whole ‘remove the mask’ that the movie did. Which by the way; boring! Again! While I was watching it is genuinely took me minutes to register ‘hey. That was the job centre guy, right?’

That’s bad.

That’s also unnecessary.

Afton’s whole thing was that he was a faceless killer. He wore the suit and mask and hid who he was. He didn’t need to be linked into the job centre guy at all. This is honestly similar to my situation with the ‘Vanessa’s his kid’ thing, really. We didn’t need that. It wasn’t necessary. Afton didn’t need to be anyone important in their lives. That’s half the point of Afton. He’s a serial murderer, and most of his on-purpose crimes are people he has no relationship to other than ‘worked in the building’. There wasn’t a need to bring this silly little loop of ‘Afton was the job centre guy and he specifically got Mike hired here so he could kill him!’ into things.

But hey. It’s Five Nights At Freddy’s. It’s not like unnecessary plot loops is a new thing here.

Either way. I don't think the ending was bad. I just think, much like a lot of everything else, it was just sort of boring and a bit full of things that weren't totally necessary.

Is there more I could say? Probably. If I felt like rewatching the movie again and picking it apart minute by minute for all the Bad Things, I could do that. I don’t want to. I’ve watched it, now.

I came out of this movie with the opinion that it wasn’t bad, and I stand by that. As a movie, it was acceptable. If you don’t really care about FNaF and the lore, and just want something to kind of brainlessly watch for a bit of a spook and some gore… yeah, it pulls that off alright.

But it’s a FNaF movie. I came here for FNaF. Maybe it was for the lore, to see how they tied things together. Maybe it was just for some spooky jumpscares. Maybe it was for a tense, survive the night action with a mix of defending the room and running for his life. But I came here for Five Nights at Freddy’s, and what I got was a movie that could be reskinned with any generic animatronic pizza place company and still stand on its own.

That is not a good thing.

[awakenedsalamander]

Promise is a promise. Let’s talk about my planned (but so far, never played) Werewolf chronicle, tentatively titled Blood Ripples Out.

Blood Ripples Out started from a few things, if memory serves. It began life as an idea for Werewolf: The Forsaken actually, but it morphed to Apocalypse as I got more into WoD over time (though I could still easily see myself playing it as Forsaken). But it mostly came from me dwelling on two video games:

1) Hotline Miami. Indie classic, full of hyperviolence and neon-soaked grime. A perfect aesthetic for Werewolf, I think, but I was particularly dwelling on the famous way almost all the levels end. After you tear through a place in a frenzy of brutal killing, the music cuts out to a dull thrum as you walk out of the bloodstained rooms you were just tearing through during your adrenaline rush, and you have to think for a moment… “Was all that a good idea? Was it worth it?”

2) Assassin’s Creed III. Almost a guilty pleasure of mine, this game. But what struck me about it was the sort of core premise of the second act of the game— the protagonist, Ratonhaké:don/Connor Kenway, desperate to protect his home and his loved ones from the colonial forces ravaging them, goes on a series of missions to kill the people leading those forces. Notably, despite his general tendency to downplay collateral damage and minimize violence, even his most precise and targeted assassinations tend to make the situation even more precarious. Ratonhaké:don wants to just stop the violence, but the violence follows him wherever he goes. It clearly isn’t his fault, he’s doing so much right… but when even doing the right thing doesn’t help, what is there to do?

You might be able to see where I’m going.

At its core, my idea for Blood Ripples Out was to empower players to act, while making sure their actions never quite fixed things. I know this is a risky path to some extent, because I don’t want the players and their choices to feel ineffectual or pointless— what I wanted instead was for them to think, with care and deliberation, about the consequences of their interactions with the world, and then be surprised by what they were able to plan for… and what they weren’t.

So to me, the chronicle was about tension cycles. Each arc starts with a problem— the first one I had in mind was a dangerous drug proliferating through the community the game was set in. This drug took advantage of vulnerable people— the addicted, the desperate, the wounded— and used them as a vessel to breed Banes and other Wyrm-tainted things. The person distributing these drugs may be aware of that being the effect, but either way, the Wyrm grows stronger so long as they continue spreading them. So, the player characters have to shut down their operation.

Then, the tension builds as the players investigate and try to find their target. They talk to the people affected, try to help them, maybe tracking down dealers and looking into suspicious activity. They might deal with threats violently, or with their supernatural powers— maybe they just talk and think their way through it all? I, of course, make note of the ways the world might respond to the player characters as they progress to the truth, and find the person who needs to die.*

Finally, the climax. All the tension is supercharged in one final mission for the arc— the werewolves know where their target is, and they hunt them down. Maybe they sneak in and kill them silently, or maybe they tear through their hideout in Crinos form, howling at the moon all the while. Perhaps they can arrange for a rival to take care of the problem for them, manipulating the situation to their advantage. Either way, it all culminates in confrontation and then, the tension releases as it’s resolved.

But then, next arc, the tension builds again. Did our werewolves solve the problem quietly and cleanly? Then there’s an easily exploited power vacuum. Maybe some shady medical corporation moves in and tries to push an equally nasty “cure” on an afflicted community, or law enforcement cracks down on all the drug trading now that no one is in control. If the PCs did things overtly, violently, then they’ve established that the community has their protection, but they might be scared of whatever things are stalking in the dark, and werewolf hunters might be tipped off to their presence. So on and so forth for any solution— nothing is perfect. But not eveyrthing is terrible, of course. People are finally recovering, maybe even benefiting from harm reduction and other community aid our PCs helped established. The people taking advantage of the community have been thrown out, at least for the moment, and the Caern grows stronger, healthier.

The core question of Blood Ripples Out, then, is not “Is what you’re doing right?” but instead “What will you do to make your choices the right choices, when the world resists happy endings?”

I don’t know the answer to that question, but I’d love to see a group try and answer it some day.

*Note: My initial conception for the game did involve a sort of metatextual requirement of the death of at least one antagonist per arc, to make the statement that the violence the PCs did was to an extent necessary, even when it did sometimes make the situation escalate. That said, such a conceit might work better for Forsaken than Apocalypse, and I would be interested in seeing how the concept of the chronicle works for characters who consistently search for nonviolent solutions.

[saucy-mesothelioma]

Meso's Mixtapes: Handplates Gaster

In honor of the Handplates comic by @zarla-s finally coming to an end, I decided to finally get back to work on my Mixtapes and do one for their interpretation of W.D. Gaster as a sort of thank you. But before I do, I want to talk for a moment about what this comic has meant to me. I was around 12 or so when I first got into Undertale. I was a pretty sheltered kid and wasn't really allowed to play video games, so I watched playthroughs and listened to the ost all from YouTube. And it was through this that I came across the dubbed version of the comic. I was instantly captivated by the acting and the editing, but the thing that pulled me in the most was the emotion behind the storytelling. Even when I was younger, I had no interest in any sort of AUs, but this one not only caught my attention, but held it in a vice. I binged the entirety of what was available of the comic on YouTube twice, and didn't tire of it one bit. But of course, as the years went by and my interest in Undertale faded, I stopped watching. It wasn't until a few months ago while scrolling through Tumblr that I found the comic again and that it was still being updated. So I picked up the comic right from the beginning and read it all. And to my surprise, it was just as incredible as when I read it all those years ago. To this day, Handplates has been the only AU out of really any media that I enjoy, and I'm not even the biggest fan of Undertale anymore. The fact that an AU has captured my attention longer than the base game itself really speaks to how well written this comic is. I would (and have) genuinely suggest it to people who aren't even into Undertale, specifically for how this comic is written. Unfortunately, I was unable to interact with the community due to no access to social media as well as rediscovering the comic so late, but I've fully enjoyed looking through the archives and reading all the asks, extra comics, and posts about it; it really made me feel like a part of the community after all. I don't know what Zarla has planned for the future, but whether it be little one-off Handplates comics, other Undertale stories, or even a bigger project in something else entirely, I will be eagerly tuning in. This comic has meant a lot to me, and I couldn't be more thankful. Now, without further ado, the playlist.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Villain by Stella Jang (There are a few different ways you could interpret this song, but for the sake of this mixtape, I see it as the idea of "you can be doing something good, but doing something evil to achieve it still makes you the villain". As the song says, there are many shades of grey; "the person I love the most could be a dog to somebody else" and "the person you hate the most is somebody's beloved child" perfectly explain this. It's the basis of "the ends don't justify the means", which is the exact opposite of the ideology Gaster follows over the course of the comic. Although he does this for the better of monster society, he is still aware of the fact that what he is doing is deplorable; that's part of what makes him such an interesting character to examine.) Rule #27 - Drunk on Pride by Fish in a Birdcage Dying Day by Landlady Dentist! by Alan Menken (I had to include this after Zarla mentioned it in a post a while back, and I gotta say it really does fit in a hilarious way) Wernher Von Braun by Tom Lehrer (I debated on whether or not put this one on the list, but in my opinion the line "'Once the rockets are up, who cares where they come down? That's not my department!' says Wernher von Braun" does sound like something he would say; sort of that mentality of "Hey, I did my job. That's not my problem." he showed during scene where the worker was requesting that handrails be added to the CORE. Plus it's Tom Lehrer.) Priest by William Crighton My Friends by Steven Sondheim (The only reason I included this song was because my headcanon voice for Gaster is Len Cariou. Although I will say that my friend also suggested Sam Neill specifically because of the scenes in Jurassic Park where Alan meets Tim and Lex and when he explains how the raptors hunted to that kid at the dig site since they both seem like something he'd do and I stand by that assessment 1000%. Both of those are perfect to me.)

Dead Man's Party by Oingo Boingo Euthanasia by Will Wood Alles im Griff (auf dem sinkenden schiff) by Udo Jürgens ("Ich hab alles im griff auf dem sinkenden schiff" loosely translates to "I have everything under control on the sinking ship", and the song is basically about all of these bad things happening to the narrator, and the narrator just bottling it all up and saying "This is fine. I'm totally fine." If that doesn't describe Gaster, then I don't know what does.) Zombie by The Cranberries (Considering what the song is about, I felt like it would also stand as a good representation for the hardships and trauma war can leave . And yes, I know that's not the main theme of the comic, but to me at least, that theme was crucial for how some of the characters developed. Not just Gaster, but Toriel and Asgore too.) Everything You Ever by Joss Whedon Total Recall by pragmaticNihilist (Ok, so this one needs a bit of explaining more so than the others. This song is one of the themes for the character Secily Iopara from the game Snowbound Blood, which is technically a sort of prequel/spinoff from the webcomic Vast Error. At least in my opinion, Gaster and Secily share several defining traits: both are easily consumed by work to the point where it takes a toll on their social life as well as their mental health, they push away the people that care about them in order to make things easier for themselves, they both basically devoted their entire meaning to one person [Asgore and Ahlina respectively], and their life's work was their downfall. I just thought it was really interesting how two characters from completely different stories manage to share so much, and how one was able to succeed in fields where the other character failed. Things like this in media have always been something I've enjoyed, so I felt compelled to include it.) Venetian Blind Man by Will Wood Arsonist's Lullabye by Hozier Good Old Days by Weird Al (I'm sorry but I couldn't resist adding this one. It was way too funny to not. I am so, so sorry. This is the last "not really serious one" I swear.) I'm Not Supposed to Care by Gordon Lightfoot (First off, the opening line is already perfect, but I can definitely see this song as the sort of the encompassing theme for the final pages of the comic when they're on the surface. The people who were Gaster's family have no idea who he is or how much they mean to him, yet he's still more than willing to devote himself to them and their happiness, which we see mainly with him and Asgore. My interpretation of Gaster's interactions with them are perfectly summed up by this song: He feels like he shouldn't care as much as he does because they're no longer who he knew, but he can't help it. They no longer love him, but he still loves them and will do whatever he can to make sure they're happy, even at his own expense [both before falling into the CORE and after]. Gaster sums up the basis of his own mentality perfectly: "As long as you will have me, I will stay.")